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April 29 2009
Last summer, around 7:30 pm on a Friday night, as my wife and I sped out of town for the weekend, she received a text message from a friend of ours, Chris, saying, “Ask Jeff. What is the indentation on the bottom of a wine bottle called and why is it there?”
It seems Chris and his wife were having a small gathering of folks at their house, drinking some wine, and asking each other some head-scratching wine-related questions.
Feeling like Ken Jennings on Jeopardy, as we eased into a gas station to fill up, completely sure of my answer, walking that line between smug and confident, I responded to my wife as she responded, thumbs flying on the phone.
She texted something like – “Called a punt. Gives structural support to clanking glass bottles when shipped overseas hundreds of years ago.”
Feeling triumphant and ready for my own glass of vino, we went on with our drive out of town and then later joked about it when we joined the nascent wine club and monthly gathering a few weeks later (this months edition hosted at Chez Lefevere and the theme is ‘Sauvignon Blanc from Around the World’).
Not satisfied with my answer, Chris also texted ChaCha, a text-based search engine and answer service that employs 1000’s of college kids as stringers. ChaCha is, by the way, the best thing to happen to the bar bet, er, house party bet since, well, corks were invented.
They received a completely different answer.
If only I had a copy of History of Wine Words by Charles Hodgson …
If only ChaCha had a copy of History of Wine Words by Charles Hodgson …
In the most interesting and useful quick read since A Wine Miscellany by Graham Harding, Wine Words is a terrifically fascinating book on where our wine words come from.
For anybody that has read this blog for longer than a week knows, I am a non-fiction book wonk, and a big fan of understanding context to the world around me. For the erudite wine enthusiast who loves to banter about wine administrivia in a manner that is more spirited Cliff Claven and not aloof elitism, this is your book.
Hodgson, though he has a career outside academia, is something of a professional in etymology and author of several books on word origins, in addition to being the creator of http://www.podictionary.com.
With History of Wine Words, he has written a book that should settle scores of wine bar bets for years to come.
Set-up dictionary style, and indexed for quick access, History of Wine Words, for example, explores that mysterious punt of a bottle and explains:
… The name appeared in English in 1862, only one year after the word kick was used to describe the same bottle feature. The best guess as to why this indentation might be called a punt is that an instrument used to make bottles was also called a punt or a pontil. It was an iron bar … used to hold the molten glass blob as it was being formed into a bottle. As such, it left a scar on the finished bottle that was often ground off, leaving a slight indentation.
I was wrong, even if it was an assured guess!
The book is chock full of these nuggets. Take Sangria for example. The book notes:
The name of the famous Spanish wine punch literally means “bleeding,” which likely refers to the color imparted by red wine … the word didn’t appear in English with the Spanish spelling until 1961, but sangaree was first cited in 1736 as the name of a popular if lowbrow punch.
My lone complaint about this book is its price. Available at Amazon.com for $17.95, its $4 or $5 higher than it should be based on similar books like the aforementioned A Wine Miscellany or Schott’s Food and Drink Miscellany. That said, it is published by a micro-publisher and printed on demand, which likely affects the cost model given that printing costs cannot be spread out over a larger print quantity.
Despite a small price quibble, having History of Wine Words in your wine library is money well spent and that $5 is easily earned back at the next wine bar when you make a trivia bet with a friend, the knowledge you’ve gained and tucked away, ready to earn you a glass of wine.
*Disclosure* This book was received from the publisher as a review copy
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August 25 2006
The American Vine-Dresser’s Guide, 1826, Chapter 2 pages 30 - 33.
Here, the author, John James Dufour, comments on the Cape grape a native grape to North America that, here, is speculated to have been imported from Africa. Dufour continues to comment on its suitability to drink and the ongoing struggle to introduce European vine cuttings. Interestingly, and amusingly, he notes the bias many had at the time for French wines versus domestic wines.
The additional trouble andexpense attending the culture of the grape and the making of the wine; as wellas the time the vine dresserhas to wait for its produce; the large preliminary expenses, for cellar, press,and vessels to the makingand storing the wine, the patience to await itsmaturity, are sufficient to be dreaded by beginners in the world, and in thewoods, too, are of themselves sufficient, without the addition of the fear; that such a coarse grape would at last not be fit for to make palatable wine: tothat may beadded another obstacle, that the first vine dressers of a country have toencounter; it isthe prejudice against home-made, of a people who areused to imported wines only, which are or ought tobe of the best sort, and of the strongest,naturally or by mixture, with spirits, to supportthe transportation; the home grown winewhich is toappear first among such a people must resemble exactly the one he is used to, to engage him to pay for it: Such was our case at first, but we gradually found a market for all we made; I saw a greatmany, who would at first not taste the Swiss wine, because it was not as strongas the imported Madeira, which is about one-third of brandy, or as sweet asMalaga wine, nor as mild as it would be, if kept only one half the age of theimported one, but having drank of it a few times for company’s sake, they havebecome great lovers of it; so that, by the by, the consumption having prettywell kept pace with the product, old American wine has always been scarce.
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August 14 2006
Over the course of the last couple of months I’ve been running excerpts from a book in the public domain titled The American Vine-Dresser’s Guide by John James Dufour. Published in 1826 the book is the first published North American book on viticulture.
Dufouris also credited in many circles as being the Father of the AmericanWine Industry having the first successful grape-growing AND winemakingoperation in the U.S. around 1807.
Because this first successfulundertaking took place in Vevay, IN and because I live in the Midwest,I find this notable. And, it helps that the book is charming, as well.
I do, however, want to provide a bit of context to the book so the following post is a Cliffs Notes version of the story.
Theunlikely hero who would eventually lead the revolution in American viticulturewas John James Dufour. He arrived aloneand unnoticed on the shores of North America. Had somebody been waiting for his arrival, looking for a vinedresser whocould develop American viticulture, he probably would have passed overDufour.
Dufourdid not fit the stereotypical English view of a vinedresser.
Thoughhe was from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, he was not French. And even though Switzerland was awine-producing country, it was unimportant compared to France in bothproduction and reputation. Second,Dufour was maimed in his left arm. Becauseof his handicap, some people thought him unfit for his chosen profession. Yet, despite these vagaries, which seemed todisqualify him on the first glance, Dufour had qualities of character thatenabled him to be successful where many before him had failed.
Thespirit of the New World captured Dufour at an early age. Near the end of his life, he wrote aboutwhat had influenced him to come to America and attempt grape-growing.
WhenI took the resolution to come to America, to try the cultivation of the grape,I was but fourteen [1777]; and I came to this determination by reading thenewspapers, which were full of the American Revolutionary War, and containedmany letters from the officers of the French army aiding the Republicans, whichcomplained of the scarcity of the wine among them, in the midst of the greatestabundance of every thing else; and by inspection of the maps, I saw thatAmerica was in the parallel of the best wine countries in the world—like Spain,South of France, Italy and Greece. Ithen made the culture of the grape, of its natural history, and all that wasconnected with it, my most serious study, to be better able to succeed here.
Dufourspent the first of many years traveling the settled New World inspecting vinesand making attempts at wine-making, all were largely unsuccessful.
Inthe midst of some early success in Kentucky, Dufour wrote to his relatives andfriends in Switzerland requesting them to join him in the New World. On April 30, 1800, “relations and friends”formed a covenant that was signed by a number of heads of households. The covenant was a contract of thirty-onearticles outlining the relationship the members of the group were to have inAmerica. The group planned to leave forAmerica in November of 1800.
Afterthe election of Thomas Jefferson and the land sale by the government in theNorthwest Territory, Dufour lobbied Kentucky Senator Gallatin and subsequentlyThomas Jefferson for land on the northern banks of the Ohio, on credit.
ThomasJefferson, a celebrated Francophile, was one of the most noted American wineconnoisseurs of his day. Hisrelationship to wine and grape-growing lasted throughout his long life. When he was ambassador to France, he touredthe French vineyards; as president he encouraged the vinedressers andwinemakers with whom he corresponded; and in retirement, he continued to extolthe benefits to be gained from a domestic wine industry.
Dufour had everyconfidence that his latest venture would succeed and he saw the Ohio River asthe heart of his successful future. Inhis lobbying, he was quoted as having written, “The time is not far off whenour seaports instead of receiving wines and liquors, will send some abroad,”and he added, “I forsee the time when the Ohio will compete with the Rhine orthe Rhone for the quantity of vineyards, and the quality of wine.”
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August 14 2006
Over the course of the last couple of months I’ve been running excerpts from a book in the public domain titled The American Vine-Dresser’s Guide by John James Dufour. Published in 1826 the book is the first published North American book on viticulture.
Dufour is also credited in many circles as being the Father of the American Wine Industry having the first successful grape-growing AND winemaking operation in the U.S. around 1807.
Because this first successful undertaking took place in Vevay, IN and because I live in the Midwest, I find this notable. And, it helps that the book is charming, as well.
I do, however, want to provide a bit of context to the book so the following post is a Cliffs Notes version of the story.
PartII
InDecember of 1804, Dufour decided to have a sample of his Firstvineyard winesent to President Jefferson in Washington. However, the colonists did not have enough money to finance the trip ontheir own. Henry Clay, famousKentuckian and subscriber to the Kentucky Vineyard Society, collected a fund of$60 to help finance the journey. JohnFrancis Dufour, newly settled, was chosen to make the trip. After a long overland journey ofapproximately 600 miles, on packhorse with kegs of five gallons each of wine,John Francis arrived in Washington in late February. John Francis met with Jefferson two days later. Jefferson wrote a letter to Senator JohnBrown of Kentucky describing the meeting between himself and John FrancisDufour. Jefferson wrote that heinformed John Francis of the wine’s potential, but he needed to let it furtherage. Jefferson sampled both wines atdinner with his family noting, “They appear to possess a body capable ofbecoming good.”
Atthe settlement on the banks of the Ohio, the settlers had their firstsubstantial wheat crop in 1805. Shortlythereafter, in 1806 or 1807, they enjoyed their first grape crop. In 1808, grape production increased enoughto allow the colonists to make 800 gallons of wine.
Meanwhile,at Firstvineyard, the founding establishment was folding unsuccessfully in1809. In the spring of 1809, a frosttook the whole crop. As John JamesDufour later described it:
“My two brothers, who tried to keep the place, foundthemselves too weak to support it; and one frosty spring having took all theircrop; and knowing that those of the colony, who had begun in 1802 on theborders of the Ohio, were successful and had suffered nothing by the frost,they abandoned the place to an American tenant.”
Whenthis event is compared to the 1,200 gallons of wine produced at New Switzerlandin the same year, one can see that the project at Firstvineyard had run itscourse
Anotherview of the expanding Swiss settlement and its increasingly famous wine wasprovided by a traveler named John Mellish. He wrote on September 16, 1811:
Wewere now in sight of a Swiss settlement on the other side of the river, towhich, on account of the head wine, we moved with difficulty; but on ourarrival we were very much gratified by the appearance of this thriving colony. We were told that they immigrated to Americaabout ten years ago, and first attempted vine-dressing on the Kentucky River,but not succeeding to their wish, they moved to this place, which they found toanswer very well. We found the vineyardsin very good order, and the grapes, which were at full maturity, hung in mostluxuriant clusters. They were of twokinds, claret and Madeira, both reputed to be of the best quality, and thesample which we tasted had an excellent flavor. The wine consisted of two kinds of course, claret andMadeira. The claret was rich inquality, but too acid. It was, however,very palatable and pleasant beverage when diluted with water. The Madeira wine we found very unpalatable,but we were informed that it wanted age. Last year {1810} they sold 2400 gallons at one dollar and a half pergallon; this year they will sell 3000; and they are very sanguine that theywill be able to bring the business to full maturity. Their markets are Cincinnati, Frankfort, Lexington, and St.Louis.
In1813, an ad was run the Niles’ Weekly Register of Cincinnati for Vevaywine. It read:
“Forward.”—DanielDebeltaz, at the Cincinnati, Ohio, advises tavern keepers and others, that hehad received a supply of good red wine, superior to the common Bordeaux claret,which he offers at 2 dollars per gallon. He further says that he will be supplied with the “white and Madeirawines.” This wine is produced at NewSwitzerland, Indiana Territory, where the vine-yards are in the most prosperousstate. The cultivation is rapidlyexpanding on the shores of the Ohio, and has every prospect of soon reachingthe demand. How delightful it is tobehold the opening resources of our country; and contemplate the time when allthat may satisfy our wants or gratify our appetites, shall be found in thegrowth and produce of the republic!
Indianawine and the American wine industry were born.
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July 4 2006
The American Vine-Dresser’s Guide, 1826, by John James Dufour pg 26 -28
In this passage Dufour speaks in a loping narrative style about the Cape grape and his exploration of various grape varieties and their success—drawing a parrallel to varietals he has experience with in his native Switzerland and in the Bordeaux region.
… toodelicate to make strong and durable wine,the same case happens in cider countries. Among the apples, it is wellknown, that in
TheCape grape is, besides, not a very productive sort, yieldingonly from 100 to 250 gallons per acre; while the best are cultivatedin the Canton de Vaud,in Switzerland, produces from 500to 2800 gallonsper acre in one year, and ten pounds of grapes makes a large gallon of clear wine, and is, at the same time, one of the best tablegrapes. As to strength, it will depend on the climate, and on the sort of soilwhich produces it. It would be a good deal better and stronger if raisedon the pine hills about
If only the enemies of American wine had said that theCape grapes are wild or indigenous, Iwould make no observation here on it: but it is the opinion of oneof my particular friends, whom I hold in the highest estimation, of whom I claimhis indulgence if I differ inopinion, and doubt of the assertion, until I see it in itsoriginal state: for if it existed in the United States,particularly in the State ofPennsylvania, where they said it is to befound wild now, I ought to have met with it in my travelsthrough so many of the States of the Union, undertaken and performedwith the only purpose to studyall that had, or that may have, any relation to the cultivation of the grapes in the UnitedStates.
How could it be, then, that the best of the wild orindigenous grapes, if this isone of them, shouldhave alone escapedmy sight? Beside all theindigenous grapes I have metwith, are what Botanists are classing in the dioicia family, or male and female on differentplants, like hemp, hops, persimmons, one species of the laurel andseveral other plants—while allthe cultivated sort that I am acquainted with are hermaphrodites, or with the faculty, if fecundation initself, the male andfemale organsbeing together in the same blossom, like theapple tree, the peach being of the Latendria monogenia class ofSinuous.
I made that discovery first atFrankfort in Kentucky, in the garden of a gentleman, who had procured some vines of the sand grapes, from the Islands of theOhio; but happening that he had got only male plants his vines neverbore, but large branches of blossoms Ipruned and dressed those vines once myself, with no better success that raisedsuspicion in my breast, of what itwas, awl at the next succeeding blooming time, I plainly saw all the indigenousgrapes that have fallen since under myinspection were of the diociae family. The famous botanist, Michaux, in a Latin flora of South Carolina, tells it also positively,and since, I have found that same plant,which is a different one from the viniferousvines in different parts of Europe, particularly in the vicinity of the river Rhone, beforeits entering the lake ofGeneva; and is the hedges of a farm in the neighborhood of Bordeaux, calledLaguira, belonging in 1806 to Mr. Galay the Swiss Consul at Bordeaux. It is in favor of my readers, who may havethe chance and wish to ascertain that fact by themselves,that I have been so particular.
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