HOCHnEIM, STEINBERG, AND JOHANNISBERG. 61 



CHAPTER IV. 



HOCHHEIM, STEINBERG, AND JOHANNISBERG. ' 



Ilochheim. — Mr. Drcscl. — The Ch.impagne Manufiictory. — Mr. Lembach. — His 

 Cellar. — His Method of Wine-making. — Different Wines from the same Grape. — 

 The Barrels. — Sulphuring the Barrels. — Price of Wines. — Regulations for Gather- 

 ing the Grapes. — Visit to the Champagne Manufactory. — Mr. Hummel. — Wies- 

 baden. — Professor Medicus. — The Kurhaus. — The Gambling Rooms. — Dr. Thoma. 

 — Biberich. — The Chief .of the Steinberg Vineyards. — The Steinberg Vineyards. 

 — Mode of Cultivating the Grape. — The Farm-yard. — Eberbach. — The Wine 

 Cellars. — Tasting Wines. — Bouquet of Old and New Wines. — How to taste fine 

 Wines. — Assorting the Grapes. — Manufacturing the Wine. — Large and small 

 Barrels. — Requisites for making good Wines. — The Presses. — Visit to Johannis- 

 berg. — The Soil of the Region. — Vineyards not Sold. — Their Value. — Palace of 

 Johannisberg. — The Vineyard. — The Cellars. — The Johannisberg and Steinberg 

 Wines. — Rivalry between them. — The Superiority sometimes accidental. — A 

 lucky Stroke. — Prices the same. — Last Glasses of Johannisberg. — Geisberg. — 

 The Experimental Gardens. — Results of Experiments. — High Trimming and low 

 Trimming of Vines. — The School of Agriculture. — Exchange of Seeds. — Depart- 

 ure for Frankfort. — Report of Wine Auctions at Eberbach. 



In an hour's travel we arrived at Hocliheim, where, after going 

 to an inn and having onr clothes brushed, we set out to see Her- 

 man Dresel, Esq., Director of the Champagne manufactory of the 

 Joint-stock Association. The American consul had furnished me 

 with a letter of introduction to Mr. Dresel. He received me 

 kindly, and conducted us through the whole establishment, to de- 

 scribe which, at first sight, would be impossible. This is one of the 

 largest establishments in Germany. It employs eighty men, and 

 makes daily three thousand bottles of Champagne. The capital 

 invested is 1,000,000 guldens (about $rtOO,000).* It makes very 

 good sparkling wines, and imitates excellently the French Cham- 

 pagnes. Some of the imitations are really much better than the 

 brands they pretend to imitate. The establishment makes money. 

 Mr. Dresel, who took great pains to show and explain to us each 

 branch separately, invited me to come to-morrow for a closer ex- 

 amination and farther inspection. This gentleman is the brother 

 of Mr. E. Dresel, resident and proprietor of a fine vineyard in So- 

 noma. I was ignorant of this until I asked the gentleman if he 



* The gulden (plural guldens) or florin is equal to about 40 cents. 



