BRITISH COLONIES.—NEW SOUTH WALES—SYDNEY.

131

WINES.

The specimens of wine and brandy, the produce of New South Wales, which are exhibited, havingcreated considerable interest, and having been very favourably classed by the “ Experts ” called in toassist the Jury of Class XI., a few explanatory observations upon this interesting branch of agriculturalproduce are added to the Catalogue. The wines and brandy exhibited are the produce of four vineyards,three of which are in the Hunter’s River district, between lat. 32° and 33° S., and the other in the Sydneydistrict, and south of lat. 34° S. Of the former, there are six samples of wine and one of brandy fromIrrawang vineyard, the property of Mr. James King, President of the Hunter River Vineyard Association ;one Irom Tomago, the property of Mrs. Wiudyer; and one from Colstoun, the property of Mr. Brown.Of the latter, there are nine specimens from Camden, the property of James and William Macarthur. It isto be regretted that other proprietors of vineyards could not be induced to contribute wine of their produce ;the writer of this Memorandum having for several years occupied the position of President of the VineyardAssociation of New South Wales, and being thus enabled to state from personal knowledge that theirwines might have successfully competed for precedence with those which are exhibited.

As an inquiry Will naturally be made to what extent the Colony of New South Wales may beexpected to contribute this species of produce, should a demand for it be created, it may be stated that thestatistics compiled by the Government of the Colony give the extent of land under vineyards at more than1,000 acres; but as the same table gives the annual produce at only from 80,000 to 110,000 gallons (theaverage crop in ordinary years being actually from 400 to 800 gallons per acre) it may be presumed thatmuch of the land returned as vineyard is only partially occupied by vines, and that the produce of a largeportion of the whole is supplied to the towns in the shape of fruit. No limit, however, can be assigned tothe extent of land capable of being profitably converted into vineyards, should a demand for the wine arise.There is, perhaps, no country in the world possessing such an extent of territory, the climate and soil ofwhich offer the most favourable conditions for vine culture. Over at least twelve degrees of latitude, andfive or six degrees of longitude, innumerable sites exist, which almost seem to invite their application tothis branch of industry.*

Two most important conditions for the production of wine on a large scale are, however, still wanting—skilled labour to accomplish the serious task of converting the waste into vineyards, and to tend themafterwards, and a sufficient demand for their produce when they are formed. The first want would berapidly supplied by the efforts of the colonists themselves, were there a reasonable assurance that theremoval of the second impediment would follow. Hitherto, the proprietors of vineyards in New South Waleshave experienced difficulty in finding a sale for their produce beyond the requirements of their immediateneighbourhood. The better classes of inhabitants in the towns complain, on the other hand, that if theywish to purchase colonial wine, there is no town establishment where they can be supplied. Such a stateof things may seem curious, but admits of easy explanation ; and a second reference to the governmenttables of statistics will enable one to furnish it. It appears that the importation of wine into New SouthWales in 1853 amounted to 757,000 gallons, valued at 198,000L Now, it is evident that the interestsof the importing merchant and the vendor of foreign wines to the immediate consumer (often the sameindividual) are opposed to the extended consumption of home grown wines ; the one, because his importtrade would be interfered with ; and the other, because his profits upon the sale of wine would bediminished, and his mode of conducting his business require to be modified ; and, in fact, the characterof the colonial wine has been much cried down by some importers and dealers in foreign wine, not oneof whom, on the other hand, undertakes as a business to interpose between the growers in the country andthe consumers in the towns. The producer cannot manage an establishment in the town for the sale ofhis produce, because his time is occupied by his avocations in the country, and the merchant will not doso. On this account, the progress of vine-culture is checked, and the pursuit languishes in the hands ofa few dozen of proprietors, who make enough good wine for themselves, and a few habitual customers,but who, in general, do not take pains much further. A demand from without would soon overcome thisdifficulty, reconcile the opposing interests of the producer and the merchant, and promote the rapid extensionof vine culture. The distance from Europe would form no serious obstacle to the importation of wine ofgood quality ; even at present the freight may be stated at 20s. per hogshead, or 4 d. per gallon ; and anextensive trade might be expected to produce a material abatement. According to the best informationprocurable, the finest wines of the colony could now be supplied in England, duty paid, at 24s. to 30s.per dozen.

* Smce the favourable notice which the Australian wines obtained at Paris, statements have been publicly made thatwine in New South Wales was a mere fancy production, and not obtainable as an article of trade, it may be well toobserve, therefore, that the average produce of one vineyard in the metropolitan district may be taken at ISO pipes perannum, that there are several more in the district of the Hunter, the produce of which is at least as great, and that thereare, besides, a number of smaller vineyards scattered over the country.

Note on theWines ofNew SouthWales.