Grape Culture and Wine-Making in California

'a. i': '^^Z* .*)^J^ >< N.^ •\^ '^^ ^^.>-w- \f^^- ^ ^^. i %. J r^^ •' a ft ^ t^ ^ N C ^ ^^? *0 ,.0' ,/. "/'o. <' \\ . ^ 0^% :>^.v .0 o^ %^ ^*. "^^ ...^ % '< • :'i * '\ ..X: ^ * . Ukm CULTURE AND WINE-MMIM IN CALIFORNIA • A PKACTICAL^MANUAL FOR THE GRAPE-GROWER AND WINE-MAKER BY ^ i GEORGE HUSMANN NAPA, CAL SAN FRANCISCO PAYOT, UPHAM & CO., PUBLISHERS 204 Sansome Street 1888 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1887, by PAYOT, UPHAM & COMPANY In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington COMMERCIAL PUBLISHING COMPANY PRINTERS 34 CALIFORNIA STREET, S. F PREFACE. A book, specially devoted to "Grape Culture and Wine Making in California," would seem to need no apology for its appearance, however much the author may do so for under- taking the task. California seems to him, at least, as ''the chosen land of the Lord," the great Vineland ; and the industry, now only in its first stages of development, destined to overshadow all others. It has already assumed dimensions, within the short period of its existence, hardly forty years, that our European brethren can not believe it, and a smile of incredulity comes to their lips when we speak of vineyards of several thousand acres, with a product of millions of gallons per annum. But, while fully cognizant of the importance of these large enterprises, it is not for their owners that this little volume is Avritten specially. The millionaire who is able to plant and maintain a vineyard of several thousand acres, can and should provide the best and most scientific skill to manage his vineyard and his cellars; it will be the wisest and most economi- cal course for him, he can afford to pay high salaries, and the most costly wineries, provided they are also practical, would be a good investment for him. We have thousands, perhaps the large majority of our wine growers, however, who are comparatively poor men, many of whom have to plant their vineyards, nay, even clear the land for them with their own hands, make their first wine in a wooden shanty with a rough lever press, and work their way up by slow degrees to that competence which they hope to gain by the sweat of their brow. Of these, many bring but a scanty knowledge to their task; and yet it is from these, who cultivate their small vine- IV PREFACE. yards with unceasing interest, and are willing to watch their wines with the grestest care that we must expect our choicest products. To help and serve this army of patient toilers, in whose ranks I have labored for forty years, here and in Mis- souri, with hand and brain, is the object and aim of this little book; I can fully sympathize with them, because I had to gather what little knowledge I may have, piecemeal and by hard practical experience in an almost untrodden field, and I wish to save them some of the dear bought experience which I had to pass through. If its pages become a practical guide for them, by which they can plant and cultivate their vineyards, prune and train their vines, erect their wine cellars when they need them and are able to build them, and make good, drinkable and saleable wine, my chief object has been accomplished. To do this, I intend to be as concise and clear as possible, use no high-flown language, and avoid scientific terms as much as possible; talk as the plain, practical farmer to his co-laborers, and confine myself to simple facts, gathered from my own daily practice as well as from the practice and counsels of others who have labored long and successfully in the same cause. None of us are infallible, and the best way to gain knowledge is by exchanging ideas and experience among ourselves, comparing notes with each other. And this is especially necessary in each neighborhood, each valley and its surrounding hillsides in this, the brightest and most bountiful, but also the most diversified and variable State in the Union; where the climatic conditions as well as the soil change as quickly, according to each location as in a kaleidoscope. This makes it all the more necessary, that the vintner select his climate and soil carefully; and again, that he chooses such varieties as are adapted to his soil and climate. Then the climatic conditions will also materially affect his operations in wine making, curing raisins, etc., in short no man can hold fast to one invariable rule in this State, but must vary his operations with the location, the soil, the product of each season, and the climatic conditions prevailing during his operations, and which may vary every day during the vintage. And therefore this will be a Califor- nia book, first and foremost. I am fully aware that French and German, Spanish, Italians and Portuguese, have many eminent men who have compiled the experiences of centuries,^ and from which we can learn a great deal, especially in making and handling wines. But while I value it highly, and am willing to profit by it, yet all the conditions are so different there, that they can be no safe guide for us. Our rainless summers, the character -of our grapes, which always ripen, and are heavier in sugar, while they may lack in ferment and sprightliness, will necessitate different handling, and I believe that three seasons of active experience here, will enable a man with good sound judgment to make a more perfect wine from California grapes, than twenty years of practice in France or Germany. He has nothing to unlearn, is free from prejudices and antiquated methods, and is therefore more likely to suc- ceed, than the one who comes to the task with the precon- ceived notion that he knows everything, while in reality he has to take lessons every day. Therefore, though I will gladly use some foreign experience, and give due credit for it, this little volume will not be a foreign compilation, but a practical record of California experience, in the vineyard and wine cellar. That this may be concise, useful, and offer such assistance as practical men may need is my highest am- bition. The reader must not expect infallible doctrines, nor impractical theories, but plain rules, variable according to circumstances, and given in plain language, without poetic fiction or privilege. I shall try to deal with, and confine myself to plain facts of every day occurrence. But while its principal aim shall be to become a guide to prefacp:. the beginner, I also hope to make it interesting enough for those who count their vineyards by the hundreds and even thousands of acres. I hope to give a true and full picture of this giant industry, none the less gigantic because yet in its infancy, and which owes so much to their enthusiasm and en- terprise. They will furnish the wines for the million, and it is truly a noble and proud task to furnish to every laborer a sound, cheap and palatable wine, at less cost than tea or cof- fee. We want their assistance to make this great nation tem- perate, convert them into wine drinkers, instead of drinking so called brandy and whisky, the banes of so many otherwise happy households. And for this object we may safely claim the help of the ladies also. I am proud of the active part so many of them have already taken in the viticulture of Califor- nia. There are not a few of them who successfully manage vineyards and wine cellars of hundreds of acres, and hundreds of thousands of gallons. May their numbers increase, and they become our helpmates in this as in every good work. I am sure that I commit no indiscretion if I mention the names of Mrs. Kate F. Warfield and Mrs. Hood of Sonoma Valley, and Mrs. Weinberger of St. Helena, as among the foremost in this State, vvhile the illustrious example of Madame la Duchess de Fitz James, who has already replanted about two thousand acres destroyed by the phylloxera, on her estates in Herault, France, has given the results of her experience to the public in several books, and inspired new confidence in the industry into the poor despairing peasantry of that district, who saw their only means of livelihood failing them, should not be forgetten here. I use the term " illustrious^' advisedly, not in reference to her rank ; for I am Republican enough to have little regard for the accidental privilege of noble birth; but a woman who does such noble work, winds a more shin- ing and lasting crescent around her brow than monarchs can confer, and birth bestow, and is worthy to be counted among PREFACE. VII the benefactors of mankind; I am proud of the privilege of being her correspondent, and thus acknowledging her noble efforts in our cause. This work was commenced in June, when the greatest rush of vineyard work was over, written in my cabin in Chiles Valley, surrounded by vines, w^here practical reference could be had every day and hour to the operations necessary among them. As it progressed, I became convinced more and more of the magnitude of the subject, and che impossibil- ity of doing it full justice in the space of a few months, and a few hundred pages. I hoped to complete it before the vintage, so that it could be of some use perhaps during its pro- gress. But unavoidable delays have drawn it out to the end of the vintage, of this truly abnormal year, abnormal in its late and destructive frosts, its hot winds during summer, caus- ing a great deal of coulure and its unusually hot w^eather during the vintage.

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