ENOLOGICAL STUDIES. 



THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN GRAPES GROWN IN OHIO, 

 NEW YORK, AND VIRGINIA. 



OBJECT OF THE INVESTIGATION. 



In the discharge of duties devolving upon the Bureau of Chem- 

 istry under the food and drugs act it became apparent that definite 

 data on the methods of wine making and of the products made in the 

 several wine districts of the country were needed. As chemical data 

 on the composition of the fruit used in the manufacture of grape 

 juices and wines were not available, it was found necessary to make 

 a fairly complete fundamental study of the grape and the by-prod- 

 ucts made from this fruit. As a first step in this direction a detailed 

 study was made of the chemical composition and general character 

 of the several varieties of grapes grown in the Central and Eastern 

 States, especially those sent to the wineries at Sandusky, Ohio, with 

 a view to determining the suitability of these grapes for food purposes 

 and for wine production. Further than this a chemical study of the 

 commercial wines produced in the middle and eastern wine-growing 

 districts was also found necessary for the purpose of comparing their 

 quality with that of wines which might be made under the direction 

 of the bureau from the grapes commonly used at the wineries for this 

 purpose. 



The need of this investigation in the administration of the food 

 law is readily seen if one compares the widely varying statements of 

 the grape growers and the wine makers as to the quality of the fruit 

 produced and the possibility of making straight wines from this fruit, 

 and also if one is familiar with the general practice of watering and 

 sugaring (i. e., gallizing) the wines made in the districts mentioned. 

 For these reasons it is important to determine fully the character of 

 the strictly nature wines made from these grapes. There appeared 

 to be no other method of securing these data than by a thorough 

 chemical investigation covering the whole subject of the fruit grown 

 and the character and composition of the wines produced and sold 

 in the districts in question. The term " American grapes" is here 

 used to distinguish native seedlings and crosses of these with the 



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