OUR  NATIVE  WINES. 
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of  the  cask,  and  the  wine  modified  by  the  conversion,  into  pecu- 
liar etherine  substances,  of  the  others,  through  mutual  action 
between  them  and  the  alcohol  of  the  wine. 
From  the  fact,  however,  that  the  demand  for  Catawba  is  greater 
than  the  supply,  and  the  cost  of  production  is  greater  in  com- 
parison with  that  of  most  European  wines,  producers,  therefore, 
do  not  have  those  inducements  held  out  to  them  which  men  require 
who  look  to  profit  only,  to  make  stronger  or  even  better  wines. 
And  until  these  conditions  cease  to  exist,  we  may  look  in  vain 
for  much  of  a  change  in  their  character. 
It  is  a  lamentable  fact,  that  of  the  large  amount  of  wine  now 
annually  produced,  a  portion — and  small  at  that — only  represents 
the  wine- capabilities  of  the  grape.  Old  Catawba  is  very  rare, 
good  Catawba  almost  as  much  so,  and  pure  Catawba  but  a  little 
less  rare.  This  is  asserted  by  one  of  our  most  respectable  of 
wine  manufacturers.  It  seems  that  in  the  schools  of  adultera- 
tion, there  are  willing  teachers  ;  these  find  enough  apt  scholars, 
to  whom  to  impart  the  theory  and  processes  of  making  fictitious 
native  wines.  Catawba  is  adulterated  ;  for  which  purpose,  cider 
and  the  cheaper  French  wines  are  employed.  It  is  also  largely 
made,  artificially,  by  fermenting  a  watery  solution  of  sugar  with 
the  pummace  of  the  grape  (the  residue  left  in  the  press,)  adding 
subsequently  enough  alcohol  or  whisky  to  bring  it  to  the  standard. 
Our  wine  growers  state  that  the  best  means  of  judging  the 
quality  of  these,  or  indeed  of  any  particular  class  of  wines,  are 
a  fine  sense  of  taste  and  smell.  The  experience  obtained,  by  the 
continued  exercise  of  these  senses  in  judging  of  wines,  forms  the 
best  test  for  knowing  the  false  from  the  real  and  the  good  from 
the  bad. 
The  strong  boquet  of  the  Catawba  renders  it  capable  of  afford- 
ing a  distilled  spirit  (brandy)  of  superior  flavor.  To  the  subject 
of  Catawba  brandy,  however,  as  a  secondary  product  of  the  wine, 
I  propose  to  devote  some  remarks  in  a  future  number  of  the 
Journal. 
In  1850,  our  total  wine  crop,  including  that  of  California,  was 
221,000  gallons  ;  that  of  1857  can  be  safely  estimated  from  reli- 
able data,  at  3,000,000  gallons.  In  view  of  this  rapid  increase, 
in  so  short  an  interval,  we  may  contemplate  with  satisfaction  the 
certainty  that,  ere  many  years  shall  elapse,  we  shall  be  enabled, 
