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THE SUNDAY CALL. of wine ehampagna all that is aris- d. White wine, red € he more mysterious darker crs have comspired to give their ing assoc! cy, a verve, e - 5 eishness which fascinates! ez s (not as we count ifornia, but as the an- early days in Ca clents champagne has been b bursting, sparkling end rough the staider wines ges, to reach the where it could ex- beguile at its own kings and a2 and this 1 caressed of compressed force have a tonic for tired nE (If not too tired) and an originator s. So great was its power XIIL, when ol and debilit ve excesses and under Maintenon,” forbade ction and lifted its old-time > the front rank. Aga s were called in t Domitian” issued edict that wine cultivation shouid cease, because the peopie idolized Bacchus more than Ceres, and six generations of men lived and died before this edict was Then son— ion one—a gardener’s , licensed the culti their grateful joy Rheims erected a tri- which still stands at the en- heir city a is called “the A warlike name surely, s and forests of the cham- ned grapes of every sort and » was appropriate, “Le Champagne” had to combat man h its summit of excellence. and its compatriots, all when enters laughing, in- clear-eyed, amber-hued cham- (offspring of them all), thelr acles remain e.apty and the long-stemmed glasses, filled beverage, are lifted high, is King of Feast! sent are ever mingled in sidious, pegne curved recer wide-lipped with a m lives and states and provin- ces. Amer new, and California & new State land and France are old co us, but; in comparison with man empire €ven they P agne is older than them ell, & rejuvenated graybeard, end to its origin ‘we must first jump backward (a bad custom, generally epeaking hobnob with those - jolly old abb re, those “august Caesars,” dazzling courts of the French Ki: California is in manufacturi 1ow extensively engaged g champagne from native vineyards, an wisely adopted the French meth f prep: tion. There- fore, as fornia had once to be born, before its fertile mountains could culti- vate the grape, so to compare our Cali- fornia champagne with the origin and imported brands invention of their wines ed. es its name from the old Champagne, which is now represent by Havre, Haute- Havre, Aube and Ardennes. This coun- try has been, and actually overfiow- ot milk and honey, but with f As century, when Chris- tablished religion of abbots found a sort of wine which “was al- , and boiled incessantly in which they liked won- seth both the stomach and heels " sald one, and its terrific e r egarded with awe. But th history of the invention, develop- ment and naming of champagne belongs to & later period. Religion and wine seem indisputably blended, incongruous as it may appear. Christ made water into wine. Perhaps this is the solution of the puzzle. Certain it is that in every country the cholcest wine has been developed from the vine- vards belonging to the church. In early ¥¥ the monk, because of his secluded e and retired pursu became ac- minted with the best methods of con- olling fermentation, and aiding, like- ise, in its legitimate produection. Why, Chamber- the favorite wine of the first Na- poleon the tercians of Citaulx. the Clos Vaugeot and to one of the Benedio- nes of the Royal Abbey of St Peter at owe champagne, eing ravaged by the Normans, twice destroyed fire, devastated by tne ti Y 1670 the famous abbey stood (among the sunny d_slopes risin€ from the poplar- fringed Marne), a historic and imposing monument of Nature's everiastingness Space does not permit of the romantic ry of its christening, but the agel bear §d witness to its fortunate location. uated among numberless vineyaras revenue became tremendous. A wine- producing section; a select array of work- ers (chosen from the monks), the re- sources of the abbey became famous. Right here, in 1670, 8 worthy and wily Benedictine — Dom Perignon — presided over these vineyards. Remember the name., Dom Perignon. for he is the er of “Le Vin Champagne.” Listen, thirsty San Franciscans, this monk was chosen for his position becaure of two things hie purity of taste and the “soundness of his heart.” He soon noticed the nt qualities of the wine and grapes—one kind of soil gave fragrance, another generosity, while some varieti were destitute of both. Then Dom Perig- non—a worthy benedict—conceived the jea of “marrying.” or blending the pro- duce of different vineyards together, and his happy conceit is still adhered to in the manufacture of winé to-day. Years after, when this clever old Benedictine was blivd from age, his palate was still so skiliful and delicate that when different varieties of grapes Were brought to him he would taste each kind and say, “You must y this wine with such another wine. But his crowning glory was achleved when he succeeded in obtaining for the first time in. the champagne a perfectly white wine from black grapes, nd finally, by a method, regulated to the bit of the wine of that district to “ex- plode” (and by a new system of bottiing), ie ME PUTS THE BOTTLE T0 HIS5 LIPS IN A \WAY HE /HADN'T QUGHTERY AND DRAINS OUT EVERY BLOOMIN' DROP AS IF TWAS ONLY WATER, he succeeded In producing champagne. The exact date of his achlevement is not given, but it could not have been later than 1697. At first the new wine was called "Vin de Perignon,” but soon assumed its pres- ent rame, “Vin de Champagne.” En passant, no two evils without their biessing. At the time of its introduction the glory of France was on the wane. Colbert, Louvols and Luxembourg were dead; the treaty of Ryswick had been figned:; famine crouched near, and the heart of France beat low and fitfully. Be- hold! An aniber wine, laughing and foam- ing in high-stemmed glasses, bids mel- ancholy depart, and mirth sits enthroned in the high places! At every feast Ba: ¢hus reigned supréme, and ‘the pear- shaped flasks, “‘ten inches high, including the four or five of the neck, stamped with the arms of the noble hosts, and secured with Spanish wax,” were-indispensable. An apropos story is recorded of the Marquis de Billery; Being enamored of the wine, at a famous supper, he intro- duced it in bewltching guise. Twelve blooming girls, scantily draped, as beau- tiful Bacchantes, entered the room, bear- ing baskets of flowers apparently, but which, on being placed before the guests, proved to be flower wreathed bottles of champagne. 1If ever a beverage was meant for pleasure it was certainly this one. The French found in its discovery a consolation even for the victories of Marlborough. Chaulieu, the poetic abbe, and the fa- vorite of both the Neudomes, hails the Dew wine in these rapturous strains: Of five score clear giassss the mimien brightness “ad IR ) : § ir o Make up for of dishes’ the absence and light- nes: And the foam, sparkiing pure, Of fresh, delicate wine For fortune's frail lure Blots out all regret in this memory of mine. This same poet, in replying to an in- vitation to Sonning's house at Neuilly on July 20, 1707, refers especially to the glasses, of Perignon: Alors, grand mervellle, sera De voi fluter vin de champagne. ‘Which lterally ieans, “It will be a pleasure to see how the champagne is drained from the tall glasses,” then called “flutes.” One more instance of the influence of this new wine: Frederick Willlam If of Prussia actually proposed to the Acad- emy of A and Sciences ‘at Berlin the question, “Why does champagne foam?" The students; worthy our day, promptly requested the King to.send them samples of the beverage upon which to, experi- ment. The stingy monarch sent them one dozen bottles. ~He never heard their curses. At another time this new wine served a curious purpos Count Saillans, one of the most famous horse- men of his day, made a wager that he which were also the invention, would ride a single horse from Versallles to the Hotel des Invalides within an hour. His wife, fearing the dangerous descent from Sevres toward Paris, prevailed upon the King 'to prohibit him from riding in person, but & valet (whose neck was of course of no account) rode as his deputy. The horse was carefully fed 'on biscults and champagne and crowds assembled to watch the close of the fiying trip. The valet won the wager and the horse was glven more champagne. History does not relate how the animal felt the next day. Fromr that. time to this present day champagne has ‘béen the pet of the wealthy and has made world-famous those sloping vineyards of the Cham- pagne. Romance, wild and mysterious, iives to-day In_the stories one may hear at Rheims or Epernay concerning those early days of this dazzling wine, but space permits no further digression. Although France is the home of cham- pagne, and although by actual count Eu- rcpe makes twenty times more cham- pugne than all the rest of the world to- gether, still the ‘domestic ¢champagne' "of America is steadily increasing in favor. And California champagne. is greatly in demand, even in the East. It is made FILLING—~ WINE FOR exactly as the Benedictine monk used to make it, and Mr. A. Gruenberg of San Francisco, who s an. expert upon this Subject, tells of the process in detall, and compares the California wine with the imported champagne. “To one interested in the grape, sald he, “California is of surpassing attrac- tion during the vintage gseason. The miles ot even rows of vines in full follage, cov- ering the beautiful hills, form a pieture of unique charm. Our California moun- tains are veritable workshops, for outside are. the rich vines, and within are the cool, {mmense cellars. Of course, we can’'t make as good wine as is made in France, because we have not the climate and soll for it. That champagne section in France is peculiarly adapted for rais- fng the grape, just as California is cele- brated for its orange groves. The soll in the.champagne province is chalk mixed with “silica, and this ‘is very conducive to viticulture. Still the manufacture of champagné in our State is rapidly being pushed onward to perfection, and our ‘wine is sought for all over the world. We . send a large quantity of it to London, and have frequent orders for it from New BLENDING CHAMPAGNE" York, Chicago and other Eastern citles. ‘We follow the French method, and have everything new In the way of apparatus, etc., shipped to us from Paris. In the production of champagne great care I8 taken that only the grapes from the best vineyards are used; these are carefully picked and sorted, then brought to the press with the utmost dispatch, that they may be perfectly fresh. By the way, the soll imparts to the grape a special qual- ity, For instance, the magnificent vine- yards under the shadow of Mount St Helena would produce grapes of a differ- et flavor from vineyards in another part of the State. “‘After the grapes are lightly crushed, the first run of juice intendeéd for champagne is filtered, drawn off and run into tanks. This first juice is always the best. It Is left in the tanks for several months, where it undergoes fermentation, and where in solitude undisturbed it becomea perfectly bright. It is then racked from the lees into clean casks. Now comes the vital point in the production of cham- pagne, the blending, or ‘marrying’ of the various wines. Here is where the true skill of the expert champagne-maker comes in. Ofe desirable grape may be too fruity another flat, another has too much color, another will cause the wine to yellow with age, another may have too much acld. To reconcile and combine the wiues in just proportions requires experi- ence and skill and a delicate palate pos- sessed only by the born winemaker, ‘After the several juices are blend® the ‘Cuvee’ is allowed to rest for a time, is then again racked into clean casks, and ready for the bottling in the early sum- mer, when it undergaes a second ferment- period the imprisoned is generated, and also a sediment which falls to the sides of the bottles. The bottles are most carefully selected, - having sloping shoulders, so that no sediment can permanently adhere to the sides. This time is the critieal period. The generated gas gives the wine life and sparkle, but to retain the sparkle without excessive breakage of the bottles réquires very careful handling. Of late years, however, artificial methods of" re- frigeration have come into use, which greatly simplify the handling of the wine at this point. After fermentation is com- pleté the bottles are lowered to the vault, stacked in ‘tlerage’ to rest and ripen in darkness for at least a year, often 8 num- ber of years, the length of time depend- ing upon the character of the vintage. During the tierage, or resting period, the wine deposits quite a heavy sediment on the side of the bottle, lcaving the wine above bright and clear. To get rid of this sediment the bottles are placed on the ‘clearing tables.” “These tables are so constructed that the bottles are put through holes neck do and can be placed in any position from horizontal to vertical. At first their position is. almost horigontal. with the line of sediment on the side of the bottle toward the floor. With a pecullar rotary motion the bottles are shaken twice a day by skilled workmen, and their horizonta] WINES . position gradually changed to a vertiesl one, thus sending the sediment downm to the cork. This takes from two to four months before all the sediment is de- posited on the cork. It is very dellcate work, as the least jar or wrong shaking would ruin the wine. After this is all done the bottles are taken neck down to the finishing room. and the ‘disgorging’ is begun. This term means getting the cork out with its deposited sediment with- out spilling the wine. An expert work- man loosens the iron clasp over the cork, which, together with the sediment, files out with a big pop, and at the same in- stant the bottle is brought to an upright position and closed with the thumb. Of course there must be some loss of wine in this, but the bottle is filled at once from the emergeney bottie and the final cork put in, which is secured by a wire hood and muzzle. The wine is then laid away to ripen and blend for mionths be- fore adding the labels and. capsi after these have been put on the champagne is finished and ready for market. All this process takes at least two or three years, and each bottle has been handled over three hundred times. The color of the wine is-amber, more or less deep, accord- ing to the vintage and to the proportion of black grapes used. “QOf course, befors the final sealing up of the bottles the wine is liqueured, the amount of which depends upon the sweet- ness required. The liqueur used is made from the finest wine, sugar and cognac. In California very little liqueur is re- quired owing to the mild climate. “All this process sounds easy, but it is not, and the smallest mistake in prepara- tion would spoil the wine. Goed Califor- nia champagne does not rain down from the clouds or gush put from the rocks, but is the result of incessant labor, pa- tient skill, minute precaution and careful observation. And champagne is just be- ginning to be made when other wines are finished. Again, there is ‘considerable danger in manipulating the bottlé at cer- tain perfods of the process, and the skilled workmen are more difficult to find over here than in France. The shaking of the bottles twice daily requires men of great dexterity. L have seen men who could shake with their two bhands as many as 30,000 bottles a day. But these are men who have spent thirty or forty years of their lives in this task. Fancy being entombed all alone day after day in vaults dark and cold, and obliged to tiwist sixty or seventy of these bottles every minute throughout the day! One can understand why- these men become gloomy and taciturn, and often affirm that they See devils hovering over the bottle-racks and grinning at them. Some- times, shake and twist as these men will, the the bottle must be tapped with a plece of tron. This sometimes causes the wine to explode in the workman's hands. It is a pleturesque sight toygee thess men engaged at their work In ‘the long, sub- terranean wine-cellars, of which - nia can proudly boast of possessing some of the finest In America.”