The Cultivation of The Native Grape, and Manufacture of American Wines | Page 2

Third
Crop, 1865, 184, 185 Yield of Vineyard of Mr. WILLIAM
POESCHEL, 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860 185 Yield of Vineyard of Mr.
WILLIAM POESCHEL 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864 186 Yield of Vineyard
of Mr. WILLIAM POESCHEL 1865 187 Yield of Delaware Vineyard
of JOHN E. MOTTIER 189

INTRODUCTION
It is with a great deal of hesitation I undertake to write a book about
Grapes, a subject which has been, and still is, elucidated every day; and
about which we have already several works, which no doubt are more
learned, more elaborate, than anything I may produce. But the subject
is of such vast importance, and the area suitable for grape culture so
large, the diversity of soil and climate so great, that I may be pardoned

if I still think that I could be of some use to the beginner; it is for them,
and not for my brethren of the craft more learned than I am, that I write.
If they can learn anything from the plain talk of a practical worker, to
help them along in the good work, I am well repaid.
Another object I have in view is to make grape growing as easy as
possible; and I may be pardoned if I say that, in my opinion, it is a
defect in all books we have on grape culture, that the manner of
preparing the soil, training, etc., are on too costly a plan to be followed
by men of little means. If we are first to trench and prepare the soil, at a
cost of about $300 per acre, and then pay $200 more for trellis, labor,
etc., the poor man, he who must work for a living, can not afford to
raise grapes. And yet it is from the ranks of these sturdy sons of toil
that I would gain my recruits for that peaceful army whose sword is the
pruning-hook; it is from their honest, hard-working hands I expect the
grandest results. He who has already wealth enough at command can of
course afford to raise grapes with bone-dust, ashes, and all the
fertilizers. He can walk around and give his orders, making grape
culture an elegant pastime for his leisure hours, as well as a source of
profit. But, being one of the first class myself, I had to fight my way up
through untold difficulties from the lowest round of the ladder; had to
gain what knowledge I possess from dear experience, and can therefore
sympathize with those who must commence without means. It is my
earnest desire to save them some of the losses which I had to suffer, to
lighten their toil by a little plain advice. If I can succeed in this, my
object is accomplished.
In nearly all our books on grape culture I notice another defect,
especially in those published in the East; it is, that they contain a great
deal of good advice about grape culture, but very little about
wine-making, and the treatment of wine in the cellar. For us here at the
West this is an all-important point, and even our Eastern friends, if they
continue to plant grapes at the rate they have done for the last few years,
will soon glut the market, and will be forced to make them into wine. I
shall therefore try to give such simple instructions about wine-making
and its management as will enable every one to make a good saleable
and drinkable wine, better than nine-tenths of the foreign wines, which

are now sold at two to three dollars per bottle. I firmly believe that this
continent is destined to be the greatest wine-producing country in the
world; and that the time is not far distant when wine, the most
wholesome and purest of all stimulating drinks, will be within the reach
of the common laborer, and take the place of the noxious and
poisonous liquors which are now the curse of so many of our laboring
men, and have blighted the happiness of so many homes. Pure light
wine I consider the best temperance agent; but as long as bad whisky
and brandy continue to be the common drink of its citizens we can not
hope to accomplish a thorough reform; for human nature seems to
crave and need a stimulant. Let us then try to supply the most innocent
and healthy one, the exhilarating juice of the grape.
I have also endeavored throughout to give plain facts, to substantiate
with plain figures all I assert; and in no case have I allowed fancy to
roam in idle speculations which cannot be demonstrated in practice. I
do not pretend that my effort is "the most comprehensive and practical
essay on the grape," as some of our friends call their productions, but I
can claim