The German winery owner, innkeeper and wine merchant Sebastian Englerth (1804-1880) from Randersacker in Franconia is considered an important winegrowing pioneer. After his training in viticulture on his parents' farm, he attended further training courses and educated himself as an autodidact. In 1863 he established his own vine nursery and selected and propagated Silvaner, Riesling and Traminer as well as table grape varieties. He worked intensively on the phenology of the vine. He summarised his observations in four volumes, three of which have survived. His extensive range of vines included 140 grape varieties. In 1864 Englerth created the new variety Bukettrebe. In 1873 he was awarded the Progress Medal at the World Exhibition in Wien for his ampelographic work. One year later he was asked to report on the phylloxera plague in Franconia. In 1879 he completed the compilation of the first Franconian vineyard cadastre. Only one third of the then 13,000 hectares of Franconian vineyards were considered by him to be worthy of cultivation.
Englerth held numerous positions, for example as a shop steward for crofters and wine merchants in the German Society of Farmers, Foresters, Fruit and Wine Producers. He was a passionate advocate of all-natural wine and against artificial wine production and especially the wet sugar production propagated by Dr. Heinrich Gall (1791-1863). In 1874 he was a co-founder of the German Winegrowers' Association in Trier and initiated the founding of the Franconian Winegrowers' Association in 1875. He was the initiator of a viticulture experimental station and encouraged the founding of cellar cooperatives. Publications include Deutscher Weinbau und Weinhandel, dessen mögliche Konkurrenz mit dem französischen, und die chemische Weinverbesserung (1848), Dr. Gall's Weinveredlung (1855) and Der Deutsche Weinbau und Weinhandel vom Regen in die Traufe (1879).
