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June 19 2006

The American Vine-Dresser’s Guide Pg. 18 -19

In this continuation of The American Vine-Dressers Guide by John James Dufour, he continues his narrative in Chapters 1 & 2 on his initial travels throughout the United States in the late 1700s/early 1800s searching for appropriate land for the cultivation of the Good Grape.

I resolvedtherefore on a visit to see if any remains of the Jesuits vines werestill in being, and what sort ofgrapes they were; supposing very naturally,that if they had succeeded as well as tradition reported, some of them might possiblybe found in some of the gardens there. But I found only the spotwhere that vineyard had beenplanted, in a wellselected place, on the side of a hill to the north east of thetown, under a cliff. No goodgrapes, however were found either there, or in any of the gardens of thecountry. A thick forest was covering that spot, with luxuriant undergrowth, and of asparagus in the place where the Jesuitshad planted a bed of that vegetable.

This lastcircumstance made me think that the vineyard had not been sosuccessful as represented to me; but had been subject to thesame sickness which afflict now all importedgrapes, of which I shall speak more at large hereafter; the existence of whichI have seen on the vines now growing in the gardens of St. Louis & Kaskaskia,where I have been lately. The grapes are such a good fruit that the inhabitantswould have kept some in their gardens, in spite of all the governmental restrictions, as has been done in Brazil;and even, if there would have been grape vines of a hardy nature, as many sorts are inEurope, some vestiges of them would have remained, and climbed up some of the foresttrees and become wild, as the asparagus haddone. Traditions among illiterate men are not to be depended upon.

In myjourneying down the Ohio, I found at Marietta a Frenchman, who wasmaking several barrels of wine every year, out of grapes that were growing wild, and abundantly, on the heads of the Islands of the Ohioriver, known by the name of Sand grapes,because they grow best on the gravels; a few plants of which are nowgrowing in one. of our vineyards, given bythe Harmonites under the name of red juice of the Islands, I drank some of the wine, when about 4 months old, and found it like the wine produced inthe vicinity of Paris, in France, if notbetter. All the French then livingon the borders of the Ohio, were fully of the opinion, that those vineswere of French origin; that they had beenplanted first at Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburgh, and when the English took thatfort, the French rooted them out, andthrew the vines into the river, which carried and lodged them at the heads ofthe Islands, where they havemultiplied and produce (an) abundance of grapes,because they are most regularly pruned by the floating iceof the river which acts on them, as the pruning knife of a vine-dresser. The tradition was handed down with so many peculiar circumstances,and the grapes, which are thebest, that I know among the wild,resembling partly the species known in

France by the name of de la Madelaine, that I believedit, until I found the same kind of grapes, up the Kentucky, and Mississippirivers, where it was impossible they could have been brought, from theOhio by floating on the water; and, by the inspection of their blossom I foundthem to possess the genericcharacters of the indigenous American wild grapes; of which I shall speak more hereafter.

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June 12 2006

American Vine-Dresser’s Guide pg 17 -18

In this excerpt of the The American Vine-Dresser’s Guide by John James Dufour, the first North American book on the cultivation of grapes and winemaking in 1826, Dufour continues in the first chapter to give context to his travels throughout the eastern U.S. looking for suitable places to grow grapes.

In thetime of Julius Caesar, about 600 years before the Christian era,there were no grapes growing yet in Switzerland,called then Helvetia; and, probably, none in thewhole of Gaul; for aSwiss blacksmith, having crossed the Alps into Italy, whencehe brought back to his native country, some grapes and somefigs. The whole nation of the Swissundertook to emigrate intothat desirable country, where such fruit was growing, after havingset fire to their towns and villages; but were repulsed by JuliusCaesar on the passage of the Alps, as, indeed, they were again inattempting, to cross the river Saone and go round the Alps by Nice.

Theprecise epoch when grapes first appeared in the United States, is not easilyascertained: ifa few vines, planted here and there in gardens, or even themaking of a little wine, for one or two years, and afterwardsabandoned, could be counted for the beginning of the culture of the grape, andmaking of Wine in the United States, it may be traced back very near to thebeginning of the establishment of the whites on this side of the Atlantic. Butnone of the different and numerous trials which were made inseveral parts of the United States that Ivisited after my arrival in 1796, were found worth the name of vineyards. Allof them, except the vines planted in the gardens of the cities of NewYork and Philadelphia, and about a dozen ofplants in the vineyard of Mr. Legaux at Spring mill, near the latter place,did not suffice to pay for one half of their attendance. I went to see all thevines growing that I could hear of, even as far as Kaskaskia, on the borders ofthe Mississippi; because I was told, by an inhabitant of thattown, whom I met with at Philadelphia, that the Jesuits had there a verysuccessful vineyard, when that country belonged to the French, and wereafter-wards ordered by the French government to destroyit, for fear the culture of the grapes should spread in America andhurt the wine trade of France.

As Ihad seen but discouraging plantations of vines on that side of the Alleghany, andas the object of my journey to America, was purposely to learn what could bedone in that line of business; I was_.desirous to see if the westwould afford more encouragement.

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June 5 2006

The American Vine-Dresser Chapter 1 Pages 13 - 16

Chapter 1

Brief history of theintroduction of Grape—How it was introduced into Europe—Demitian’sdisastrous law to destroyvines in Gaul—Restoration of them by Probus, two centuries after-Emigrationof the Helvatians to where grapes grew—Introduction of vinesinto the United States—The Jesuite vineyard at Kaskaskia--Wine made atMarietta with sand grapes—Tradition among the French on sand grapes.

The Scriptures of Holy Writ, tell us that Noah wasthe first man who made wine from grapes; profane history, says that it was Bacchusfor the Greeks, or Janus for the Latins. It is very probable, that all thosedifferent names have reference to the same man; and that they have the same meaning, but in differentlanguages. Be it as it may, we learn at least, by it, that the cultureof the grape, and the art of making wine, are old; and that it was in Asia thatit begun, and from thence came to Europe. Whatfollows, is the translation of part of what the celebrated CHAPTAL has told us inthe “Dictionary of Agriculture of Labe Rozier”’ in thetenth volume, at the article vine:—

Europe isindebted to

Asia, notonly for civilization and arts, but for most of its grasses, fruit,pulse and vines. The Phenicians, who often explored the coast of the Mediterranean,introduced its culture on the Islands of the Archipelago, in Greece, toSicily, at last into Italy, and in the territory ofMarseilles, that culture had made but a small progress into Italy inthe time of Romulus—for that prince forbade the libations of wine, which werein use in all the sacrifices of Asiatic nations. It was Ruma whofirst permitted it; and Pliny adds, that it was one of themeans made use of by the politicians, to encourage the propagation of thatculture:--for soonafter, its produce became, in fact, so abundant, that peoplecould make a free use of wine, such that the Roman Fair were accused of going too far in that enjoyment;which abuse by the ladies, caused a law to be enacted, that women were forbid to drink wineunder penalty of death; and at Marseilles, the same law had been enacted for thatrepublic; but there, as well as among the Romans, the too great severity of thelaw was an obstacle to itsexecution, and soon afterthey fixed at the age of thirty years on both sexes the right of drinking wine; but they soon found out that that restrictionwas too great on the use ofsuch a precious product, whichhad become very common and abundant, that they were obliged, at last,to leave the use of it entirelyfree.

However, the culture of the vine, was gradually extending among theGauls; it occupied already a part of the hillsides of the, Department of themiddle and south of France. When Domitian,either by ignorance or weakness, as Montesquieusays, gave order to root out unmercifully all the vines growing in Gaul;because one year, the crop of wheat or grain had failed—as if anything analogous exists between the way of living andgrowing in these two sorts of plants—as if the produce of one might ever bean obstacle to the crop of the other; and as if then as well asnow, the ground occupied by vines in France, was not the worse for theproduction of grain. Any how, ourforefathers by the disastrous law, found themselves condemned to drink beer,metheglin, or a sorry decoction of bitter plants. That privation, which began aboutninety-second year of the new era, continued two full centuries. It was the wise and valiant Probus, who,after having given peace to the empire, by his numerous victories, restored toGauls, liberty to plant vines. The remembranceof that culture, and of the great advantage procured by it, was not yet allgone from the memory of men; the tradition had kept even the details, the mostnecessary in the art of vine dressing. The vines, brought again from Sicily, Greece, theArchipelago, and Africa,became the origin of those innumerable species of grapes that now cover the territory of France. Itwas accordingly the saying of Dunod:—A charming and grand spectacle, to seecrowds of men, women and children, spontaneously and eagerly devotingthemselves, with enthusiasm, to that grand and sublime restoration ofliberty—to re-plant vineyards: Effectually all, could take part in it—for the culture of grape vineshas that peculiar to itself, that in the details, it offers occupations to suitthe strength of both sexes of all ages.

In this excerpt from the first chapter, John James Dufour, the author, of this, the first N. American book published about wine and grapegrowing, he expands upon history in the Roman times. Note, at the very beginning, his knowlege of history--or lack thereof--that Noah, Janus and Bacchus might be one and the same, depending on perspective.

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May 1 2006

The American Vine-Dresser’s Guide

From Pages 10, 11, & 12 of the Preface to the book, The American Vine-Dresser’s Guide published in 1826--the first book in America on the cultivation of grapes and wine by John James Dufour.

The failure of the first plantation causeda relaxation among shareholders, and not only a great difficulty wasexperienced in collecting the subscribed money, but the subscription of allthe shares was never performed, so that all our stock was made use of, forpaying the hiring of (labor) and other hands, and we were never able topurchase a single share or even to pay for the land: then the whole burden ofthe establishment rested on our family, who kept good courage, for we had begunanew, with the Cape and Madeira grapes, of which we had so few at first, thatit required several years to have enough of them; although we used greatindustry to multiply them; thus we went on until 1806, when I was obliged to goback to Europe, and our family parted. My two young brothers, who triedto keep the place, found themselves too weak to support it; and one frostyspring having took all their crop; and knowing that those of the colony, whohad begun in 1802 on the borders of the Ohio, were successful & hadsuffered nothing by the frost, they abandoned the place to an American tenant,who supposed we had a bad title to the land, obtained a new warrant, and becameowner by a patent, & let all the vines go to destruction.

At my return, which was in 1816, an accountof the war which prevented my coming sooner, I found the vineyard grown upwith briars, and I had to have recourse to law, to have the intruder ejected.Now let us see the difference, if we had punctually followed the plan, andbegan first by the collection of the $8000, and the purchase of 5 families of(laborers) for five thousand dollars, we could then have had from 15 to 20head, big, and small, I could certainly have procured by our joint labor,enough to support us all, after the second year, besides planting as many vinesas we would have done; and although the first planting had failed, we wouldsurely, in 9 or 10 years, have at least 20 acres of bearing vines of the Capegrapes, which, at the average of 180 gallons per acre, as that is the producton the Ohio, would give about 15 gallons per share, besides paying what wascoming to me. The wine then fetched $2 per gallon, and the vineyard would havebeen yearly increasing. By this time, with only common good luck among theeslaves, there could be at least thirty able hands of both sexes, besides agreat many youngsters, with whom I could tend 100 acres of vineyards, besideraising enough for the support of all, at 180 gallons per acre, would give 85gallons per share, worth as many dollars besides my reserve: and the capitalstock would be worth about tenfold.

Those who doubt the aforesaid calculation,have only to come and see our vineyards and vintage on the Ohio, and calculatefor themselves. If by chance myopinion differs from others--or I should express some original ideas, I shallnot enter into contradictory arguments: as I do not pretend to infallibility, Isubmit all to the judgment of candid readers, who however are respectfullyrequested, to postpone, pronouncing, until experimental trials have beenconsulted, as well as the grand book of nature, from which most all I have tosay has been taken, for want of other books, and even, if I had them, among themany I have read on the culture of the vine, but few could be quoted, for nonehad the least idea of what a new country is. I had the loan of Chaptal and Adlum for a few days, and I own Rozier,Peechely and Coxe, to all of whom I have made some few references, of factsunknown to me before, or when I had to say the same thing. Peechely, an Englishauthor on the cultivation of vines, in hot houses in England, where they canget no good grapes out of doors, studied the vines by handling them himself,and not in books; and has made several remarks on their nature in England, as Ihave done in Switzerland and in America, the author I would have quoted often,had I his book it would be the OLIVER De Serre, who was with propriety calledby the French authors the father of agriculture; because, all those who havewritten after him, on that science, have chiefly been his copyists, but it ismore than ten years since I have seen his "Theatra"of agriculture: although it has been lately reprinted in its original oldFrench, by Lasterie, or was intendedto be reprinted, when I left Europe last.

J. J. DUFOUR.

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April 25 2006

The American Vine-Dresser’s Guide

From pages 8 - 9 of the Preface of the American Vine-Dresser’s Guide. The first book published in North America on the cultivation of grapes and winemaking--published in 1826 and serialized at Goodgrape.com

… I then made the culture of the grape, ofits natural history, and of all that was connected with it, my most seriousstudy, to be the better able to succeed here. It is that resolution which mademe a vine dresser, although some may think I am not fit for it, being maimed inmy left arm. It was it, which made me lose several chances of getting rich, inmy journeying through America, because it had so completely absorbed all myother thoughts; and it was also that resolution, which made me accept a proposalof an association for the culture of the grape in Kentucky, under the sameprinciples of the one established at Philadelphia, though not knowing,however, which of those societies had been the first; but the KentuckyVineyard Society, may be with great propriety considered as the beginner, thetrue introducer of the cultivation of grape vines into the United States;although it proved to be a ruinous affair, both to the shareholders and theirvine dresser--nevertheless, millions will accrue to the country at large, fromthe school made there. Some of my readers, who may, like me, have been losersin that undertaking, will see here with satisfaction, the reasons why it hasfailed, and how by a different management, it may now be a more profitableestablishment even than the United tates’ Bank. When I first came to Lexington,I was requested and encouraged, to make a trial on the culture of the grape;but I was left with little courage by what I had seen done: They offered tohelp, and the following scheme of an association was agreed to: To subscribe200 shares, at $50 each--40 of the shares were to be mine as my salary toconduct the business, until it would become productive; after that, I was tohave $1000 per year out of the produce, and nothing, if there should benone,---so that the subscribers put their money, and I my time, at stake. The produce of the 160 shares, was to beappropriated as follows:

Fund Allocation for Purchase of Shares
For 633 acres of land,	$633
For 5 families of (laborers),	$5000
For tools, victuals, and other support, until the place would be productive	$1000
Expenses of getting vine scions	$800
Incidental expenses,	$567
TOTAL	$8000

Theplan was well laid, if we had perfected it; but in 1799 too anxious to begin,we went into business before all the 1160 shares were subscribed for, and whilethere was but very little money collected--five acres were planted with 35different species of the best grapes, a great part was obtained by purchasefrom Mr. Legau, at Spring Mill, near Philadelphia, and others gathered in thegardens of New York, a small part bought at Baltimore from a Germannursery-man, and another small part brought directly from my own vineyards inSwitzerland, when my brothers came over to join me; three years we were in fullexpectation, and worked with great courage--a great many species of vinesshowed fruit the third year; one vine of the sweet water was full of eminentlygood grapes, fully ripened by the first of September. A few bunches that Icarried to Lexington, were admired beyond any thing. But alas, it was the firstand last year that that vine ever bore fruit, a sickness (of which I shall makethe subject of a chapter) took hold of all our vines except the few stocks of Capeand Madeira grapes, from each of which we made the fourth year some wine, whichwas drank by the Shareholders in Lexington in March next. The failure of thefirst plantation caused a relaxation among …

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Business models don’t change. For a recent example of investors in a virtual vineyard/winery operation, check out this story.

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