1914 Beverages de luxe

But time has pi-oved tliat they were mistaken, for as soon as it became evident that the European varieties of grapes would thrive in California and produce wines similar to the foreign types the Mission vines were uprooted and today the extent of these grapes probably does not total more than a couple of thou- sand aci-es, of the 160,000 acres we have in wine grapes alone. However, but little advance was made toward increasing the area of viticulture until 1859, when, through the publication of vine articles in the reports of the State Agricultural Society, and in the newspapers, a general and widespread interest mani- fested itself in vine i)lanting and the area of our vineyards be- came greatly increased. A large proportion, however, of these new plantations consisted of table grape producing vines. In the early sixties our State Legislature sent a commission abroad to secure the finest varieties of grapes in Europe and Asia. This resulted in planting better varieties for the table, for the winepress and for raisin curing. But it was not until about 1880 that the foreign varieties of grapes were set out ex- tensively, for up to that time there were only a limited few who believed that any grapes could be as good as the old Mission va- riety. Through the persistent efforts of a few enterprising viti- culturists, .small quantities of wine were produced from imported varieties, whose character showed such superiority over those made from the Mission, that new faith in the future of Cali- fornia wines was born, and the belief si)read that under proper conditions, our State might some da.\- make wine of a superior grade, and eventually rival some of the better wines of European countries. After fifty years of patient, costly experimental work and the expenditures of vast sums in repairing the ravages of the phylloxera and Anaheim diseases, the great goal has been reached and today California wines are considered the equal of tho.se produced in France, Italy and Germany. Even abroad they ad- mit this, for at the International Exposition, at Turin, Italy, in 1911, a new brand of California champagne received the "grand prix," the highest award which the exacting jury could confer. Another proof of the superiority of American wines is the test they .stood at the St. Louis World's Exposition in 1903, when they were placed in competition with the best of every great grape-growing and wine-producing nation in the world. Out of thirty-odd entries of wines, California alone was awarded three grand prizes and nineteen gold medals. In proportion to our entries, California received more prizes for its wines, brandies, vermouth and champagne than any other exhibitor at home or