Lowest Price The cultivation of the native grape, and manufacture of American wines

Set the way-back machine to shortly after the US civil war. Even though the publication date is listed as 2007, according to the copyright page this book was published in 1866. This book was written as an every man's guide to grape growing, propagation, grape breeding, and to describe how to make a vineyard and winemaking operation profitable.

I've read several other books on the subject of growing grapes, and this is very much in line with those other works. Or, I should say, they are very much in line with THIS book. It is not the most current work, but much of this information is still pertinent. It gives one a glimpse of the time before massive chemical use and heavy machinery. Interestingly, many organic and biodynamic vineyards today (2008) follow some of these same methods.

Husmann suggests that in the future, the general public will be able to distinguish between good and bad wines. The book has many statements about matching the varietals to the location (soil and climate) for best results and suggesting which varietals grows best where. Can you say "Terrior"? The author suggests experimentation, changing methods as necessary, and watching nature. These are all common in modern grape growing and winemaking.

This book also gives you a view into the author's thoughts about the civil war, what it (almost) did to this country, and slavery. "They still cling to the demon of slavery..." There are historical records such as mentions of rebels stealing wine and the year vines froze down to the ground. There are references to cheap whiskey and how to make the country more temperate by having inexpensive wines. One can see in hindsight that the seeds of prohibition were spreading and that some sought to prevent it through more reasonable measures.

If this had not been available on the Kindle, I would not have spent the $70 for the paper version of the book. The Kindle price of under $4 was well worth the read.Get more detail about The cultivation of the native grape, and manufacture of American wines.