Good Grape Wine Company

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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