Good Grape Wine Company

April 15 2006

The American Vine-Dresser’s Guide

When I started Good Grape, I intended to make this a treatise or manifesto on how I view the world of wine—a view point that is couched in our history and skewed a little different then the connoiseur or foodie viewpoint.  In doing so, I also thought to know our future, it would be important to know our past.  To that end, I started with one of my first blog post from the American Vine-Dresser’s Guide by John James Dufour—a sort of re-purposing of public domain content that I thought had a high degree of curiosity and relevance. 

A short narrative of Dufour can be found here, but in short he is credited with being the spiritual leader for viticulture in the new world and for being the first successful viticulturalist AND winemaker in the states—having success in Vevay, Indiana in 1807.  In 1826 he wrote a book, excerpted here in brief page by page snapshots, called The American Vine-Dresser’s Guide.

The first post can be found here and pages 6 and 7 of the preface are below. 

The American Vine-Dresser’s Guide
pg. 6 - 7 Preface

If the United States were planted with vine-yards like France, as they will be at some future day, the patent right for it alone, would produce ten fold the income for this book. Another invention of mine,—the best way to graft grape vines, must rot be omitted, and many other experiments and remarks I made, to study their nature and their way of growing: they will be found through the book where I think they will be necessary to illustrate some of my positions.

I might have begun this preface, by the praise and encomium of the grapes and wine, and show the consequence on the health, temperance and cheerfulness of the people generally in any country, where there is a sufficient supply of genuine wine, which is equal to the provision of bread stuff; and as evidences and authority, I shall copy here what Mr. Speechley says in the preface of his treatise on the culture of vines:

"Of all the numerous sorts of fruits, indulgent nature produces for the use of man, that of the grape must be    esteemed her noblest gift: For although various others not only afford comforts, but many of them even contribute to the luxury of the human race; yet none of them tend so eminently as does this fruit, to gladden the heart. Hlail then precious vine! Let me modestly presume to treat of thy culture, and to set forth thy virtues—a theme worthy of the immortal gods! 0 may thy superior excellence everlastingly inspire man with duty, and with unfeigned gratitude to the all bounteous Giver."

What Mr. apeechley says here, is highly corroborated bv what we read in Ecclesiastucus, ch. 31, v. 27 & 28,—"Wine is as good as life to man, if it be drank moderately: what is life then to a man that is without wine, for it was made to make man glad? Wine measurably drank, and in season, bring(eth) gladness of the heart and cheerfulness of the mind."

It is, to contribute all in my power, that I undertook to write this treatise, to engage and enable the people of this vast continent, to procure for themselves and their children the blessing intended by the Almighty; that they should enjoy, and not by trade from foreign countries, but by the produce of their own labor, out of the very ground they tread, from a corner of each one’s farm, wine thus obtained, first handed from the grand Giver of of all good, pure, genuine and unmixed by avarice, that it may have the effect on his heart and family intended by the Creator: Then in the cheerfulness of his heart, he will bless and thank him, who thus so bounteously provideth; than that offspring of fire-distilled liquor-so corosive and acerb as its parent, which crisps the heart and maketh man mad, will be left for the poor inhabitants of frozen countries, to whom both grapes and apples have been refused : and if this my humble performance, should contribute to bring such blessing in the country, I could rejoice to have quitted my first home to come here.When I took the resolution to come to America, to try the cultivation of the grape, I was but fourteen; and I came to this determination by reading the newspaper, which were full of the American Revolutionary War, and contained many letters from the officers of the French army aiding the Republicans, which complained of the scarcity of the wine among them, in the midst of the greatest abundance of every thing else; and inspection of the maps; I saw that America was in the parallel of the best wine countries in the world—like Spain, South of France, Italy and Greece: I then made the culture of the grape ...

To be continued ...

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