1914 Beverages de luxe

where

it is again piled up for a weeiv or so to repose and assimilate. When needed for market, each bottle is examined with candle light, same as candling eggs, to separate the defective bottles. The defective bottles are those from which the sedi- ment has not comjjletely disappeared, or with pieces of cork, etc. After this process the bottles are ready to be dressed up for market with a fancy cap or foil, handsome labels, and wraj^ped in neat tissue paper, to be cased up in cases of twelve l)ottles or twenty-four half bottles, and usually sell at $12.00 and $14.00 per case, up to $22.00 and $24.00 per case. One Ohio firm commands the ])rice of $22.00 and $24.00 per case for one of their brands, and $14.00 and $1(5.00 for another. American Champagnes or sparkling wines are coming to the front very rapidly, owing to many reasons, viz: American push and enterprise; the American article has a natural bou- ciuet of its own, given it by the grape, and not added as in the imported article; the efferve.scense is superior, and the methods used are identical; and last, but not lea.st, the difference in price at which the two articles are sold. The imported article costs no more to produce than the home product, but with $9.60 duty added, $2.00 consular fees, $1.00 transportation, and $10.00 at least added by the lavish way in which they are boomed, plus the original cost of $9.00 per case for twenty-four half bottles, and the amount of $31.60 is completed, about the average cost of the imported article. The above short perusal on the production of Champagne covers it in general, but the fact must not be overlooked that the real work occuiiies a space of time of two and one-half to three years, and each bottle is handled from 160 to 240 times, and has been under the diligent care of careful supervision contin- ually; and the easiest and most pleasing operation is the last, that of popping the cork to the ceiling, and toasting all your friends to a long life and a merry one.