Grape Culture, Wines, and Wine-Making. With Notes upon Agriculture and Horticulture
New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1862.
First edition of one of the earliest and most important references on California wine-making. 420, [4 ads] pp. with frontispiece of Buena Vista Ranch in Sonoma and numerous in-text and full page illustrations. Bound in publisher's Perkin's purple cloth ruled in blind and stamped in gilt. Very Good+ with toning and slight fading to spine with wear and minor fraying to ends and corners, small closed tear to crown, uneven fading to boards with soiling. Preliminaries slightly foxed. Some leaves dogeared with occasional penciled notations in old hand in margins and terminals. Born into a noble family the Hungarian chemist, traveler and pioneer winemaker Agoston Harasthzy purchased Buena Vista Ranch in Sonoma, California in 1856. There, under the direction of local farmers and then-Governor Downey, he planted European grape varieties that were later expanded into the state's first large vineyard. Included are sections on vine grafting, chemical processes of fermenting and notes on wine flavor profiles. The appendices relay contemporary continental winemaking practices and sections of foreign texts from the time. An important documentation of early American viticulture and its debt to Europe. Rather scarce in the original cloth. Gabler G23020; Simon, 144.
Price: $6,500