THE
WINE PRESS
AND
THE CELLAR.
A MANUAL FOR
THE WINE-MAKER AND
THE CELLAR-MAN.
By E. H. RIXFORD.
San Francisco: New York:
PAYOT, UPHAM & CO. D. VAN NOSTRAND.
1883.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883,
by E. H. RIXFORD,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress,
at Washington.
C. W. Gordon,
Steam Book and Job Printer,
San Francisco, Cal.
[Pg v]
PREFACE.
In 1876 the Mission grape sold in California for from $7.50 to $10per ton, and foreign varieties for from $14 to $18 per ton, andconsequently many vineyardists in districts remote from the marketturned their hogs into the vineyard to gather the fruit. At thistime farmers concluded that it would not pay to grow grapes, and thevines were rooted out of many vineyards, and the land devoted to theproduction of more profitable crops. In 1878, however, the priceswere better, and the Mission grape brought from $12 to $14 per ton,and the foreign varieties from $22 to $26, and under a growing demandfor California wines, the wine makers in the counties of Sonoma andNapa have paid during the past three seasons of 1880, 1881, and 1882,prices ranging from $16 to $22 per ton for Mission, and from $22 to$35 for other foreign varieties, and in some cases even as high as$40 per ton for wine grapes of the best varieties; the extremes inprices depending upon the activity of the competition in the differentlocalities. Although in California we are accustomed to speak of the“Mission grape” and the “foreign varieties” in contradistinction, itmay not be amiss to state for the benefit of other than Californiareaders, that the “Mission” is undoubtedly a grape of European origin,and was cultivated by the Spanish priests at the missions existing inthe country at the advent of the Americans, and hence the name. Andnotwithstanding the existence of our grape, Vitis Californica,the names “native” and “California grape” have been applied to theMission, but the word “foreign” is never used in describing it.
The increase in the price of grapes has followed closely upon theincrease in the demand for our wines, and the production has kept pacewith the demand.[Pg vi]
The annual shipments of wine and brandy from California, commencingwith 1875, according to the reports published from time to time, are asfollows, in gallons:
| Year. | Wine. | Brandy. |
|---|---|---|
| 1875 | 1,031,507 | 42,318 |
| 1876 | 1,115,045 | 59,993 |
| 1877 | 1,462,792 | 138,992 |
| 1878 | <