California Vintage of 1868. 



21 



almost to bursting ; small ones, both 

 white and pink tinted, besides the big 

 Black Hambuvgs, all are offered by 

 common hucksters at prices which 

 average about two cents for a double 

 handful. The visitor from abroad is 

 astonished, as he contemplates the 

 power of a little mone}' to command 

 such exquisite luxuries for the titilla- 

 tioii of the palate. The trophies which 

 Joshua's spies brought from the pro- 

 mised land could hardly have surpas- 

 sed in exuberance of juicj^ pulp the 

 superb clusters to be had anywhere 

 almost for the asking. Indeed, the 

 autumn is favorable for giving a vivid 

 impression in regard to the agricultur- 

 al wealth of California, for then it is 

 that Ceres and fair Pomona are bring- 

 ing in a princely tribute to the hus- 

 bandman. 



California appears best in her 

 spring attire, when the landscape is 

 radiant with flowers, and crystal- 

 waters, released from their ice-fetters, 

 plunge down the mountains in an "in- 

 fernal surge," or bespangle the valleys 

 with lakelets and overflowing streams. 

 Every energy in nature then seems 

 endowed with a vital force. But later 

 in the year the munificent rewards of 

 industy are forced upon the attention, 

 and are suggestive of other themes. 



According to estimates of some of 

 the foremost men in the trade the yield 

 of wine in California this year will 

 reach 5,000,000 or 6,000,000 gallons, 

 to which must be added from 300,000 

 to 400,000 gallons of grape-brandy. 

 Many new vineyards have come into 

 bearing, and as the season has been 

 favorable in all respects, both as to 

 climate and exemption from vine dis- 

 eases or vei'min, a larger crop than 



usual will be secured. All omens point 

 to the certainty of California obtain- 

 ing pre-eminence as a wine-growing 

 country, the increase of production 

 being from ten to twenty percent per 

 annum. New vineyards are springing 

 up in every part. An acre of good- 

 bearing vines produces from 600 to 

 900 gallons of wine, and in addition, 

 the offal or pomace yields enough to 

 pay the whole expenses of the vin- 

 tage, where the manufacture is right- 

 ly conducted. Common Avine, six 

 months old, sells in San Francisco at 

 from thirty to sixty cents per gallon 

 [coin], delivered. Sweet wines com- 

 mand double these rates. 



The sweet wines, such as the Ange- 

 licas, PortjMuscat andSherry, are inade 

 in the Southern countries, principally 

 in Los Angeles. To make them, the 

 fruit is allowed to hang on the vines 

 until shriveled almost like raisins ; 

 then it is picked and crushed between 

 rollers which do not crush the seed. 

 The juice is partly fermented, the pro- 

 cess occupying from three to eight 

 days, according to the sweetness desir- 

 ed, as fermentation destroys the sac- 

 charine matter. When drawn off from 

 the fermenting tubs into casks, an ad- 

 dition of from five to eight percent of 

 brandy is made, from the same grape, 

 to check decomposition. The wine is 

 then allowed to settle from three to 

 four months, at the end of which time 

 the clarified product is drawn off, and 

 separated from the sediment. 



In California there are at least 

 30,000,000 growing vines, of which 

 two-thirds are bearing. The cost of 

 grapes averages from sixty cents to 

 ^1 per 100 pounds, giving from six to 

 seven gallons of wine, so that the cost 



