NOTES ON A TRIP TO VICTORIA

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 8 April 1881, Page 2

NOTES ON A TRIP TO VICTORIA

+ . ' . No. XVII: *iv: .;.i'..-:'s '• Stawell. • Our last day in Stawell was spent in a way that could hardly be otherwise than eongenialHo thejtaste and predilections of West (jbasters— -amongst the vineyards, and the fentiniscenees of that occasion will not soon be forgotten amongst many diverse experiences. Accepting tbe joint invitation of Mr Hunter, Mayor of Stawell, and Mr Ashman, Chairman of the Shire Council, we left the town at 3 p.m., and after a very pleasant crosscountry drive of some eight or ten miles reached the Great Western— the chief seat of vine culture of the western diatrict, and were shown over the magnificent estate of Messrs Trouette and Blampied. Their grounds comprise some hundred' acres nearly the whole of which is under cultivation, either as orobard or vineyard, and represents tbe labor and industry of twenty-two years. The soil is of a reddish color, and to jook at it in ira nalpra/ state^ before tlift Surface ia b oken, one could bardly imagine that it would grow even sorrel. It looks about a» fertile as gui nz tailings, and yet in this seep\ing hungry and sterile formation the grape vine thrives with amazing luxuriance, and this without manure, WiLhIMH wafer, or in fact any kind of artificial stimulants. The industry was started so long ago as 1858, and Messrs trouette and Blampied then commenced with tlie cultivation of ten acres, and tbrongh successive years the estate has grown *o its present dimensions. About Cfteen hands are employed in tillage all the year jr;qund. and 'ttie crojj yields from 25,^10 3^,000 gjjlons yearly. Having strolled through the grounds, and been instructed into all the mysteries of gfape growing up. tp tha£, point wben it posseises a [special charm for West Coasters, namely, tne' prediction of &c wine, ire were next conducted to the eejjar. " This is a vast excavation under the main buildings, and possesses a storage capacity for something jike 4Q.QOR ««"<>!»• 'fr>e wive is stoired'iTl huge oval-sbaped casks or urns, each containing for 500 to 800 gallons," ancl some of L these hacj been staridVtfg With their contents untouched for from l| io I{J years, from here, we were shovrn over the rooms containing the machinery, and other appliances used in tbe treatment of the grapes, and having

mastered Ibe whole situation, so to speak, we were brought face to face with the meaning of troe Frenoh hospitality, lnd the leviathan way iti wbich we entered into the festivitiea will no dbubt.be long remembered by our genial hosts. We partook- of reislktgs of<Sho ■aintap* of 1859,; burgundy of 1860; saturne of 1861 ; hermitage of 1862 ; claret of 1863; champagne of 1864; Hock of 186*5*; Chables" of 1*866, and in final, .<A drank right ilown to 1880, and even anticipated quite, nine months of the current year before the establishment ran out of " sorts.** In tbe bright lexicon of our ycuth. there was no such word as "full," and our hospitable entertainers appeared ,tp be^ determined that tnere should not be in relation to the casks in the cellar. Never before was such a quantity of mnst excellent wine beld together without hoops. Messrs Trouette and Blampied's wines, although only introduced to the Victorian [ public in 1879, are now as well kDown in brandy, and besides being prze winners, they are tbo holders ot certificates of honorable mention from several wine competitions. Our next visit was to tbe estate of Mr Joseph Best, whose vineyard is also situated at the Great Western. Tbe grounds comprise an area of some fifty acres under vines. The grape crop would reach to about 25 000 gals yearly. We were shown through the cellar, which contained 32,000 gallons of wine. Tbe cellar occupies nearly an acre in extent and may be likened to a catacomb on a small scale. It is about 20ft from tbe surface, and tbe formation being a kind of rotten limestone, is excavated like so .much cheese, but directly ths cutting is made the action of the air uport it ren. ders the stuff as hard and firm as bluestone, and to walk through tbese wide and deliciously cool subterranean galleries, and see the enormous cisterns of wine buried away in the honey-bomb work* ings, conveys to unfamiliar minds a very much extended conception of wbat it meant by the ' wine industry.' Having . made ourselves indebted to the 'genial proprietor for mnch kind hospitality, we turned homewards, dropping in by tbe way at the magnificent vineyard of Mr George Best, brother of the gentleman just named. Messrs Trouette, Blampeid, and Best, (J ), accompanied us thus far, and a repast having been extemporised with the kind offices of tbe obliging host, amongst other topics incidentally referred to was the possibility of a market being found on tbe West Coast for tbe Great Western wines, and as the outcome of that occasion I have siuce learnt tbat it is very probable that an agent of the rig-nj-Mna will shortly visit here in order to ' i^Bpematter to the test. ~