Science, Vine and Wine in Modern France

This book examines the role of science in the civilization of wine in modern France by examining viticulture, the science of the wine itself, and oenology, the study of winemaking. Together they can boast of at least two major triumphs: the creation of the post-phylloxera vines that repopulated the late-nineteenth-century vineyards devastated by the disease; and the understanding of the complex structure of wine that eventually resulted in the development of the widespread wine models of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne. For those interested in agriculture, oenologists and historians of France, this is the first analysis of the scientific battle over how to save the French vineyards and the first account of the growth of oenological science in France since Chaptal and Pasteur.