Table Of ContentPioneering American Wine
The Publications of the Southern Texts Society
series editor
David S. Shields, University of South Carolina
editorial board
Richard J. M. Blackett, Vanderbilt University
Susan V. Donaldson, College of William and Mary
Fred Hobson, University of North Carolina
Anne Goodwyn Jones, University of Florida
David Moltke-Hansen, Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Michael O’Brien, University of Cambridge
Steven M. Stowe, Indiana University
Pioneering American Wine
Writings of Nicholas Herbemont,
Master Viticulturist
Edited by David S. Shields
the university of georgia press Athens and London
Publication of this book was made possible in part by
a grant from the Watson-Brown Foundation.
© 2009 by the University of Georgia Press
Athens, Georgia 30602
www.ugapress.org
All rights reserved
Set in 10/13 Minion by BookComp, Inc.
Printed and bound by Thomson-Shore
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for
permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the
Council on Library Resources.
Printed in the United States of America
08 09 10 11 12 c 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Herbemont, Nicholas, 1771–1839.
Pioneering American wine : writings of Nicholas Herbemont,
master viticulturist / edited by David S. Shields.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-8203-3233-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-8203-3233-x (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Wine and wine making—United States—History.
2. Vintners—United States.
3. Viticulture—United States—History.
I. Shields, David S. II. Title.
tp557.h47 2009
641.2'20973--dc22 2008024427
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
For Bernard & Rebecca Herman
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Part One. Maxims 31
Part Two. Treatises
An Essay on the Culture of the Grape Vine, and Making of Wine;
Suited for the United States, and More Particularly for the Southern States
(January–July 1828) 39
Wine Making (January 23, 1833) 86
Part Three. Published Letters on Grape Growing and Wine Making
Requisites for Success in Grape Cultivation (January 22, 1820) 109
Acculturation of French Vines (December 6, 1822) 113
On the Culture of the Grape (August 20, 1826) 117
On the Use of Sugar in Making Wine (August 27, 1826) 124
Speech to the Agricultural Society of S.C. on the Benefits of
Publicly-Sponsored Grape Cultivation (February 17, 1827) 130
Memorial to the Senate of South Carolina (December 1826) 135
Domestic Wine (December 23, 1826) 139
American Wine (January 18, 1828) 141
Pruning Grape Vines (April 20, 1828) 144
Letter to Nicholas Longworth on the Grape Vine (March 19, 1829) 149
Cultivation of the Grape (August 12, 1829) 157
Letter to Edward Stabler on Wine-Making (September 9, 1829) 161
On the Proper Distance for Planting a Vineyard (December 7, 1829) 167
Pruning Frost-Nipped Vines (March 22, 1830) 172
viii contents
On the Culture of the Grape Vine, with Observations on the Practice
Recommended by Various Writers (March 30, 1830) 176
Letter to an Alabama Planter (July 9, 1830) 183
On the Formation of Vine-Yards of Native Vines, and the
Ingrafting of Grape-Vines (September 4, 1830) 189
Table Grapes (October 26, 1830) 195
Herbemont’s Madeira (May 27, 1831) 201
Observations on the Rot of the Grape, and Grafting of Foreign
Vines on Native Stocks (September 4, 1831) 203
Afflictions (September 24, 1831) 206
Letter to George Fitzhugh, Jr. (September 2, 1832) 210
Observations on the Planting of the Vine and Rot in Grapes (May 28, 1833) 213
Letter to Edmund Ruffin (November 18, 1833) 219
On the Causes of Failure in Vine Culture and Wine Making
(November 15, 1834) 224
Origin of “Herbemont’s Madeira” Grape (February 1835) 230
Difference of the Growth, Culture, and Product of Grape Vines, in the
United States and in Europe (April 29, 1836) 232
On the Suitableness of Warm Climates for Wine Making
(February 15, 1837) 238
Grape Culture in South Carolina (September 9, 1837) 241
Letter to Sidney Weller on Grape and Silk Culture (March 8, 1838) 245
Part Four. Agrarian Essays
Observations Suggested by the Late Occurrences in Charleston, by a Member
of the Board of Public Works, of the State of South-Carolina (1822) 251
Address to the President and Members of the United Agricultural Society of
South-Carolina, at Their Sitting in Columbia (December 1, 1828) 261
Honesty Is the Best Policy (March 1832) 268
On the Moral Discipline and Treatment of Slaves (February 1836) 275
Bibliographical Essay 281
Bibliography of Primary Sources on Wine Making in America, 1810–1840 289
Index 293
Acknowledgments
The idea of collecting the writings of Nicholas Herbemont arose after a conver-
sation with Dan Longone, emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of
Michigan and a wine savant with a penchant for history. When he and his wife,
Janice Longone, the culinary archivist, attended “The Cuisines of the Lowcountry
and the Caribbean” conference held by the College of Charleston in 2003, we got
to talking about early southern viticulture. Dan Longone wished to know where
Nicholas Herbemont’s vineyard had been located. I did not know, but vowed to find
out. After relocating from Charleston to Columbia, South Carolina, later that year,
I began my first inquiries into Herbemont’s career. Few knew anything of his do-
ings, and no one knew where the vineyard had been located. So I went into the mi-
crofilms section of the Thomas Cooper Library at the University of South Carolina
to begin a systematic survey of the early horticultural and agricultural magazines
of the United States in search of Herbemont. With each letter, tract, and speech I
uncovered, the more I became fascinated with this visionary viticulturist. During
the years of research, I communicated my enthusiasm about Herbemont to nu-
merous friends in the world of heritage foodstuffs and foodways—Glenn Roberts,
Merle Shepherd, Emile Defelice, Bernard L. Herman, and John T. Edge. Dr. John
Nelson of the University of South Carolina herbarium showed me the historical
collection of grape specimens from the southern United States. Dr. Mac Horton
of Clemson University’s Sand Hills Experimental Station set into motion plans for
the re-creation of Herbemont’s vineyard near its original site along the Old Cam-
den Road in Richland County. My introduction and commentary on Herbemont’s
writings were expertly critiqued and improved by the two most knowledgeable
historians of early American grape growing and wine making, Thomas Pinney
and John Hailman. My research in the South Carolina Archives was greatly aided
by Dr. Chuck Lesser, and long-distance queries to the South Carolina Historical
Society expertly assisted by my friend, archivist Jane Aldrich. Thank you all.
