Grape Culture, Wines, and Wine-Making: With Notes upon Agriculture and Horticulture.

Rare First Edition of MOST INFLUENTIAL WORK ON CALIFORNIA WINE-MAKING Haraszthy's Grape Culture, Wines, and WineMaking

Grape Culture, Wines, and Wine-Making: With Notes upon Agriculture and Horticulture.

HARASZTHY, Agoston.

Item Number: 5071

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1862.

First edition of this important work on viticulture by Haraszthy, who is often referred to as “the Father of California Wine.” Octavo, original burgundy cloth with titles to the spine in gilt and decoration to the front panel. Fifty one engravings of wine-making apparatus. Frontispiece of Buena Vista Ranch, Sonoma County, California, which was Haraszthy’s home. In near fine condition with moderate wear to the cloth. First editions are uncommon, especially in the original cloth.

Agoston Haraszthy, a Hungarian émigré, purchased the Buena Vista Ranch in Sonoma Valley in 1856 and there developed the state’s first large vineyard. His work “on everything from planting vines and growing grapes to making and bottling wine probably did more to focus attention on Sonoma Valley as a prime grape-growing area than those of any other person… Because Haraszthy knew great wine could not be made from [the locally available mission] grape, he convinced Governor Downey to send him to Europe to collect grapevines. Before leaving he stopped in New York and arranged with Harper and Brothers for publication of a book about his trip. During his travels Haraszthy collected and imported over 1400 vinifera vine varieties… Many of the vines were purchased and planted throughout California… Haraszthy went on to incorporate his vineyards into the Buena Vista Viticultural Society and he became ‘its superintendent” (Gabler, 119).

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