The commerce at the Cape is wine; and the vine has already increased
tenfold, since the colony became British. But unfortunately more
attention has been hitherto paid to quantity than to quality, except on
the farms which yield Constantia. The latter have an eastern exposure,
and are sheltered from the south-west, the only injurious blast. The
soil being a deposit from the neighbouring mountains, is light, but
enriched by manure. The subsoil, which is even more important, is still
lighter, being mixed with sand and broken stone; on the contrary, in
Drachenstein, where the chief vineyards are at present, the subsoil
being clay, the wine receives an unpleasant flavour, the idea of which
is inseparably associated with the very name of Cape wine. It is
unnecessary to enter into the subject of its manufacture. If the subsoil
be bad, so will the wine be. The vine does not require a rich subsoil.
In Italy, flags are laid to prevent the roots from penetrating into
clay; and in England, rubbish is thrown in to make a subsoil that shall
not be so rich as to produce leaves, instead of fruit. It would be
advantageous were premiums offered for wine that had not been produced
from clay of subsoil, but had been reared in trellis, as requiring less
labour than the standard, and made on a pure and good system, instead of
being mixed with Cape brandy, or sulphuric acid, &c. Notwithstanding all
these disadvantages, Cape wine is generally sold in England under the
names, and at the prices, of Madeira, Sherry, Teneriffe, Stem, Pontac,
and above all, Hock.--_Gill's Repository._
* * * * *