WINE-MAKING IN CALIFORNIA. 15$ 



picked too early. Then it ripens unevenly, often having a 

 large quantity of shriveled berries together with unripe ones, 

 on the same bunch. This is apt to deceive the wine-maker,, 

 as the sugar contained in the over ripe berries does not ap- 

 pear fully in the must, when testing with the saccharometer. 

 When this is the case, and there are many of these dried ber- 

 ries, the juice will really come to 25 Balling, when it shows but 

 22 to 23. Moreover, these dried berries are a troublesome 

 element in fermentation, and need careful watching and fre- 

 quent stirring to bring it through safe. But for all this, it is 

 a noble grape, and deserves all the care we can give it. 



There are many locations in this State where it has been 

 planted, and will not make a first-class red wine, where it 

 could be utilized better for white wine. In this case, let 

 the grapes be thoroughly ripe, then crush and press immediate- 

 ly, but press lightly, throwing the remainder of the pomace 

 into the fermenting vat. together with such red wine grapes as 

 Mataro, Crabbs Burgundy, etc. , and make them into red wine 

 afterwards. The first run of the juice, thus obtained, will- 

 make a very sprightly white or rather Schiller wine (light red), 

 which can be advantageously used in blending with heavier 

 bodied white varieties. It generally has abundance of acid, and 

 a very agreeable flavor. But this is diverging into wine mak- 

 ing and I will return to the subject of grapes, asking the read- 

 er's pardon for overstepping my limits here. 



Vine a vigorous grower, with grayish brown wood. Leaf 

 dark green, lobed, with lighter green below, rather hairy or 

 wooly, long; leaf stem reddish, also long and wavy, young 

 shoots slightly tomentose, tinged with red. Bunch long and 

 heavy, shouldered, often double, or the shoulder as long as the 

 main bunch, stem short and strong, brown, compact. Berry- 

 medium, round, black with blue bloom, and a peculiar star- 

 like dot in the center, but often intermingled with small shriv- 



