Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/665

* wi]srE. J6T WINE. WHITE WINES.— Continued. NAME Typo Country wliert* made Cliaracteristics Verzenay Champagne Burgundy Au-sirian Moselle Austrian Light, sparkling and dry. Still or sparlcling. full, delicate and soft. Wiilschriesling. . Austria, Germany and Switzer- Zeltinger Zierfahiidler Geraiany Austria Sparkling, sweet, .soft, delicate and aromatic. Still, flery, alcoholic and somewhat sweet. varieties of Vinifera. The wines of California have been carefully .studied by Hilgard and his associates at the State Agricultural Kxperiuicnt Station, and have been descrilied in the station's publications. In general, California wines are higher in alcohol, .solids, tannin, and coloring matter llian European wines made from the same grapes. Thus California Bordeaux may be made more like the product of the Gironde by dilution. The successful wines of the Pacific district may be distributed among the following types : Bor- deaux, Champagne, .Jura, Sauterne, Southern French, Rhine, Port, Sherry, and the cultivated varieties of the North Italian. Burgundy, which resembles French Bordeaux more closely tlian it does French Burgundy, has been largely made, but is being discontinued. The Hungarian type, with the exception of tlic Zinfandel, is also rapid- ly losing favor. East of the Eocky Mountains American varie- ties of grapes are used almost exclusively and the relative amount of grapes used for wine- making and for the talile depends largely upon the price of the latter; vines are most cultivated to supply table demands. But the number of vineyards for wine production is increasing, and there are some localities, especially in New York, Virginia, and Ohio, where wine-making is an important industry. Large amomits of sparkling wine of fair quality are produced in this dis- trict, chiefly from Concord, Catawba, and Dela- ware varieties. In Virginia and Ohio a red wine of good color and body is made from Norton's Virginia and Ives's seedling grapes; the Cyn- thiana, Elvira, and Goethe grapes are employed for wine in Missouri ; the Southern States from North Carolina to Texas employ the Herbcniont, Lenoir, Goethe, and Elvira: in the Atlantic Coast States from North Carolina to Florida, the Scuppernong is largely raised, and is highly prized both as a table and wine grape. The American varieties are said to have a 'foxy' flavor, which is believed to be due to the short time that the American species have been cul- tivated. The wines of the Northern States are usually drier, milder, less alcoholic, and more acid than more southerly kinds. AtTSTBiAN Wines. Austrian wines are little known in commerce: they are ustially full, strong, and astringent. No distinct type can be described, since the various parts of Austria pro- duce widely different varieties. Many Atistrian vineyards are fortunately located, and excellent wine is produced where the methods of manu- facture are not too careless and inefficient. The grapes are usually those of the surrounding coun- tries, especially Germany. Hungary, and Italy, and but few characteristic local varieties are known. AtTSTKALlAN Wines. The wines of Australia are very similar to those of California, and are popular in England. The industry is growing rapidly and is of considerable importance. French Wines. The production of wine is one of the leading industries of France, 78 of the 80 departments producing it in large quantities. Until 1875 France easily led the world. Imt in the following years her vineyards were devastated by the phylloxera, which reduced the acreage be- tween the years 1875 and 1887 from 5,.550,000 acres to 3.7-2,000, and the output of wine from 1,840,000.000 gallons to 535,000,000. Since the latter date vineyards have been restored by grafting on resistant American varieties, and the industry is again nourishing. The best known types of wine made in France are the Bordeaux, Burgimdy, Champagne, and Sauterne. The wines of Saumer, of Jura, and the light wines of Southern France' are also worthy of mention. These in turn are divided and subdivided accord- ing to local geographical and climatic conditions and the varieties of grapes employed. The wines produced in the region of the Gironde, in and near the Province of Bordellais, are commonly called Bordeaux, a class including a large num- ber of wines with somewhat widely varj'ing characteristics. They are all full, astringent, acid, usually rich in coloring matter, and have a medium alcohol content: their average com- position is: alcohol, 10.5 per cent.: total acids, 0.60 per cent; tannin, 0.175 per cent.: body, 2.3 per cent. Among the grapes employed in the preparation of Bordeaux are the Cabernet, Ver- dot, Merlot, Malbeck, Teinturier, Ganiai, and Charbono. Many liglit wines are made in this region, however, and these are usually blended with those having a higher percentage of alcohol before being placed on the market. The great demand for Bordeaux wines and the ravages of the phylloxera have led to ex-tensive adulteration, which consists chiefly in coloring with cherry juice and blending with cheaper Spanish wines. The establishment of the 'en- trepots speciau.x' (special bonded warehouses), now abolished, in which Spanish wines were admitted free of duty, mixed with wines of the Gironde region, and exported as Bordeaux wines, led to the exportation of low-grade mixtures under the name of Bordeaux, a practice which resulted in a loss of reputation for true Bor- deaux wines. The use of foreign- wine for mixing has scarcely diminished, as the dutj- required is only about six cents a gallon. The sophisticated wines are sent mainly to South America, and, it has been charged repeatedly, imported into the United States. On the other hand, it is claimed that the high protective tariff adopted by this country has effectually prevented the importa- tion of low-priced wines. Certain it is that a very large percentage of the wine imported into the United States from this immediate vicinity is fraudulently labeled, and low-grade Bordeaux