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Ampelography

ampélographie (F)
ampelography (GB)
ampelografia (I)

The science of grape varieties (ampelos = Greek vine) is a branch of oenology. According to Greek mythology, the first vine sprouted from the body of the satyr Ampelos, who was killed while hunting. His companion Dionysus first planted it in a bird's bone. When this became too small, he planted it in a lion's bone and finally in a donkey's bone. In this way, he could take the vine with him wherever he went. Differentiating between grape varieties was already attempted in Roman antiquity, and Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) discovered that different regional names often concealed one and the same variety. From the later Middle Ages, lists with the names of regionally cultivated grape varieties have survived. However, the descriptions are often imprecise, so that one can only speculate about the actual grape varieties.

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Development as a science

After the establishment of printing and the founding of modern botanical and zoological taxonomy by Carl von Linné (1707-1778), ampelography also began to develop into the botanical science of grape varieties. The word was created by the botanist Philipp Jakob Sachs von Löwenheim (1627-1672), who titled his extensive work on the vine "Ampelographia", published in 1661. It took about 150 years, however, for this term to become established as a designation for an independent scientific field. After him, the German priest and viticultural expert Balthasar Sprenger (1724-1791) from the Cistercian Abbey of Maulbronn created a three-volume work on viticulture with many hundreds of detailed descriptions of grape varieties.

Definition and scope

Ampelography comprises the description of the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of grapevine varieties and the characterisation by differentiating varietal traits. This also includes the evaluation of viticultural varietal characteristics, the description of clonal diversity, and the detection of the parentage of historical varieties of unknown origin. Vine variety identification is based on habitus (external characteristics) and vegetation cycle characteristics such as flowering, budding or ripening time. DNA analyses can be used to clarify the parentage. The flowering period falls in the 19th century. Especially in France, Italy, Germany and Austria-Hungary, extensive descriptions of grape varieties were made. Famous ampelographers in German-speaking countries were, for example, Karl Friedrich Gok (1776-1849), Johann Philipp Bronner (1792-1864), Johann Metzger (1789-1852) or August-Wilhelm Freiherr von Babo (1827-1894), in France Victor Pulliat (1827-1896) and in the USA Thomas Volney Munson (1843-1913).

standard ampelographic works

In Italy, the work "Saggio di Ampelografia Universale", written by Giuseppe di Rovasenda (1824-1913), was published in 1877, describing 3,666 grape varieties from the world's largest collection of grape varieties near Turin in Piedmont. In the German-speaking world, Hermann Goethe (1837-1911) set a high point with the publication of his second edition of the Handbuch für Ampelographie in 1887. To crown this ampelographic epoch, the seven-volume work "Ampélographie - Traité général de viticulture" was published at the beginning of the 20th century by the two French ampelographers Victor Vermorel (1848-1927) and Pierre Viala (1859-1936). In it, the European grape varieties known up to that time are described with around 24,000 grape variety names and the synonyms assigned to them with 570 mostly coloured plates and numerous illustrations (four of these grape variety pictures are shown below). The book "Wine Grapes" (Jancis Robinson, José Vouillamoz, Julia Harding) published in 2012 is now considered a standard work.

Vermorel Victor - Grand Noir de la Calmette, Tressalier (Sacy), Alphonse de Lavallée, Dattier de Beyrouth (Afus Ali)

Identification of grape varieties

Descriptions in the 18th century focused primarily on the aspects of the grape and berry, according to which identification was primarily carried out. This method was still relatively error-prone and uncertain. But from the 19th century onwards, the leaf came more and more to the fore as an organ for differentiating varieties. By the middle of the 19th century, the entire morphology of grape varieties (stem, wood, leaf, shoot tip, cluster, berry) was meticulously described and used for identification. The grape varieties were divided into groups and classified according to certain characteristics (berry shape, berry colour, hairiness of the leaf, shape of the terminal tooth), and numerous regional synonyms were elucidated and documented. Although Hermann Goethe had already suggested this in 1876, ampelometric criteria such as the measured ratio of length and width of certain leaf structures or the angular sizes between the main veins were not applied on a larger scale until the 20th century. Well-known ampelographers of the modern era include the Frenchmen Pierre Galet (1921-2019) and Paul Truel (1924-2014), who worked in Montpellier. Both recognised hundreds of grape varieties at first glance.

Vine variety catalogues

Comprehensive databases are VIVC (Vitis International Variety Catalogue) and VITIS-VEA of the Julius Kühn Institute. Today, the criteria for describing grape variety characteristics are defined in the catalogues of characteristics of the international associations OIV and UPOV. The most important organs for variety differentiation are the shoot tip, the leaf, the cluster and the berry. Criteria are colour, shape, hairiness of the shoot tip and leaves, size and character of the grapes, as well as shape, colour, taste and seed content of the berries. With the development of modern laboratory methods, attempts are also being made to differentiate grape varieties by means of content components (iso-enzymes) and DNA profiles and to identify them by molecular genetics. Since 1995, the technique of genetic fingerprinting (microsatellite analysis) has been available, with which grape varieties can be clearly identified.

All the world's renowned viticultural institutes are engaged in characterising grape varieties by molecular genet ics on the basis of the genetic DNA profiles and establishing reference profiles The final comparison of the grape varieties available in the various countries is, however, still in progress. The method has been standardised in the meantime, so that the genetic fingerprints of different working groups can now be compared more easily. Therefore, new findings can be expected all the time. The fact that identification problems can still occur despite clear criteria is described there with regard to the lengthy clarification of the paternity of the Müller-Thurgau variety, which lasted for decades. See also a complete list of all grape variety-relevant keywords under Weinrebe.

Top 6 grape varieties: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)
Grand Noir de la Calmette: Par Viala et Vermorel - Agefotostock, Domaine public, Link
Tressalier (Sacy): Par Viala et Vermorel - Ampélographie, Domaine public, Link
Alphonse Lavallée: Par Viala et Vermorel - Ampélographie, Domaine public, Link
Dattier de Beyrouth (Afus Ali): Par Viala et Vermorel - Ampélographie, Domaine public, Link

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