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EMPIRE WINES.
The present Government proposals with regard to
the substantial Duty concessions on Empire wines
will, if carried into effect, be welcomed by all
concerned in the wine trade and should lead to a
great increase in the trade done in this direction.
The wines of Australia are full bodied, generous
wines, chiefly of the heavier European types, and
pe produced principally in Victoria, near Adelaide,
in South Australia, and on the River Hunter, in
tlie province of New South Wales. The climate
and soil in these districts are admirably suited to
the growth of vines and the production of vast
quantities of grapes, but it would appear doubtful
whether her wines can be considered comparable
to the finest products of France, owing to th'e
richness of the soil and the strength of the sun,
which produces an excess of sugar in the grape.
The most famous of the Cape wines are produced
at Constantia, in the neighbourhood of Cape Town.
The next best wines of South Arica are those
produced near Stellenbosch, Somerset West, Cale-
don, etc. The vines cultivated in South Africa were
originally the same as those in use on the Rhine,
at Jerez, at the Hermitage, and in the Medoc, but
the differences of soil and climate are such as to
produce virtually different wines.
XIV.