Book Description

Excerpt from Grape Culture and Wine-Making in California: A Practical Manual for the Grape Grower and Wine Maker 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 undertaking 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 written 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 economical 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. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.