Manual of American Grape-Growing. U. P. Hedrick
to the grape-growing of the continent. Nevertheless, the regions have much in common in their environment. It is from their differences and similarities that most can be learned in the brief discussions of the regions that follow.
The Pacific slope.
The Pacific slope takes precedence among the grape regions of the continent, exceeding all others combined in the production of grapes and grape products. California is the viticultural center of this great region, grapes being grown within her bounds from the foot of Mount Shasta on the north to Mexico on the south and from the foothills of the Sierras on the east to the forest that borders the coast on the west. So outlined, California might appear to be one vast vineyard, but it is only in favored valleys, plains and low hills in the territory bounded that the vine is sufficiently well suited to be productive. Outliers of this main region of the Pacific slope run north into Oregon, Washington, Idaho and even into British Columbia, forced more and more eastward the farther north to escape humidity from the ocean which northward passes farther and farther inland. Other outliers of the main region are found eastward in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and even Utah and Colorado, though for the most part in these states grape-growing is still insignificant. Plate I shows typical vineyards in California.
The grapes grown on the Pacific slope are almost exclusively Vinifera varieties, though a few American grapes are planted in the Pacific Northwest. This is not because American varieties cannot be grown, although they succeed rather less well here than on the eastern seaboard, but because the Viniferas are liked better, and climate and soil seem exactly to suit them. Viticulture on the Pacific slope is divided into three interdependent industries which are almost never quite independent of each other—the wine industry, raisin industry and table-grape industry. Each of these industries depends on grapes more or less specially adapted to the product, the special characteristics being secured chiefly through somewhat distinct types of grapes but depending partly on soil and climatic conditions. The manufacture of unfermented grape-juice is not yet a success in this region for the reasons that Vinifera grapes do not make a good unfermented juice, and American grapes are not grown in sufficient quantities to warrant the establishment of grape-juice plants.
Bioletti gives the extent of the grape-growing industry in California as follows:[1]
"The vineyards of California covered in 1912 about 385,000 acres. Of this total, about 180,000 acres were producing wine-grapes. Roughly, 50 per cent of the wine was produced in the great interior valleys, including most of the sweet wines; 35 per cent was produced by the valleys and hillsides of the Coast ranges, including most of the dry wines; the remaining 15 per cent was produced in Southern California and included both sweet and dry.
"The raisin-grape vineyards covered about 130,000 acres, of which about 90 per cent were in the San Joaquin Valley, 7 per cent in the Sacramento, and 3 per cent in Southern California.
"The shipping-grape vineyards are reckoned at 75,000 acres, distributed about as follows: 50 per cent in the Sacramento Valley, 40 per cent in San Joaquin, 6 per cent in Southern California, and 4 per cent in the Coast ranges."
The Chautauqua grape-belt.
The Chautauqua grape-belt, lying along the northeastern shore of Lake Erie in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, is the second most important grape region in America. The "belt" is a narrow strip of lowland averaging about three miles in width, lying between Lake Erie and a high escarpment which bounds the belt on the south throughout its entire length of a hundred or more miles. Here climate and soil seem to be exceptionally favorable for grape-growing. Climate is the chief determinant of the boundaries of this belt, since there are several types of soil upon which grapes do equally well in the region, and when the climate changes at the two extremities of the belt where the escarpment becomes low, or when the distance between the lake and the escarpment is great, grape-growing ceases to be profitable.
The growers of this region are organized into selling associations so that estimates of acreage and yields are obtainable. At present writing, 1918, there are in this belt in New York about 35,000 acres of grapes; in Pennsylvania and Ohio, about 15,000 acres, much the greater part of which is in Pennsylvania. The average yield of grapes to the acre for the region is about two tons. The average total production for the past five years has been about 100,000 tons, of which 65,000 tons are shipped as table-grapes, and 35,000 tons are used in the manufacture of wine and grape-juice. Among varieties, Concord reigns supreme in the Chautauqua belt. The writer, in 1906, made a canvass of the region, vineyard by vineyard, and found that 90 per cent of the acreage of the belt was set to Concord, 3 per cent to Niagara, 2 per cent to Worden and the remaining 5 per cent to a dozen or more varieties of which Moore Early and Delaware led.
The manufacture of grape-juice on a commercial scale began in the Chautauqua belt and most of this product is still produced in the region. Here, only Concord grapes of the best quality are used for grape-juice. The growth of this industry is most significant for the future of grape-growing in the region. Twenty years ago grape-juice was a negligible factor in the grape industry of this region; at present, the annual output is in the neighborhood of 4,000,000 gallons. Grape-juice-makers now determine the price of grapes for the region, and while the quantity used is less than that for table-grapes, the time is not distant when it will be greater.
The Niagara region.
Fifty miles due north of the Chautauqua belt, across the end of Lake Erie and the narrow isthmus of Niagara, is a smaller belt on the southern shore of Lake Ontario so similar in soil, climate and topography that in these respects the two regions might be considered as identical. This is the Niagara region, Canada's chief grape-producing area. It is bounded on the north by Lake Ontario; on the south, at a distance of one to three miles by the high Niagara escarpment; to the east it crosses the Niagara River into New York; and in the west tapers to a point at Hamilton on the westward extremity of Lake Ontario. Here, again, is the influence of climate distinctly manifested. As this belt passes into New York, it widens and the influence of Lake Ontario is less and less felt to the eastward, and in consequence grape-growing becomes less and less profitable.
There were, according to the Ontario Bureau of Industries, in 1914, about 10,850 acres of grapes in the Niagara region in Canada, and possibly 4,000 acres more near the Niagara River and along the shore of Lake Ontario in New York. The Niagara grape originated on the American side of the Niagara region and is here planted more extensively than elsewhere. Grape-growing in this region is similar in all respects to that of the Chautauqua belt, the same varieties and nearly identical methods of pruning, cultivation, spraying and harvesting being employed. The crop is chiefly used as table-grapes but the grape-juice industry is growing.
The Central Lakes region of New York.
In the central part of western New York are several remarkable bodies of water known as the Central Lakes. Three of these are large and deep enough to give ideal climatic conditions for grapes, and about these lakes are grouped several important areas of vineyards, making this the third most important grape region in America. The region assumes further importance because most of the champagne made in America is produced here, and it is the chief center of still wines in eastern America as well. It is further distinguished by its distinctive types of grapes, Catawba and Delaware taking the place of Concord and Niagara, the sorts that usually predominate in eastern grape regions.
The main body of this region lies on the steep slopes of the high lands surrounding Keuka Lake. On the shores of this lake there are, approximately, 15,000 acres of grapes. Adjacent to this main body are several smaller bodies about the neighboring lakes. Thus, at the head of Canandaigua Lake and on its shores are about 2500 acres; near Seneca and between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes there are probably 1500 acres more. In a few specially favored places on other of these Central Lakes, there are possibly 1000 acres, making all told for this region, about 20,000 acres. Again it is climate that sets the seal of approval