Born in Monaco, French professor Pierre Galet (1921-2019) is considered the creator of modern ampelography (viticulture) and an absolute top expert in this subject. He was head of the Department of Viticulture at the University of Montpellier for many years. The well-known ampelographers Jean-Michel Boursiquot (his successor in ampelography), Paul Truel, Lucie T. Morton (English translator of some of his works), Umberto Camargo (Brazil), Erika Maul formerly Dettweiler (Germany) and Anna Schneider (Italy) studied under him.
Galet dedicated his entire life to researching, identifying and describing grape varieties on a scientific-botanical basis. His best-known works are the four-volume "Cépages et Vignobles de France", which was first published in 1954 and has been continually updated, containing colourful pictures of American and French grape varieties. He also wrote the two-volume work "Maladies et Parasites de la Vigne", published in 1977 and 1982, as well as the fifth edition of the identification manual "Précis de Viticulture", published in 1988. In 1967, he published his doctoral thesis "Recherches sur les méthodes d'identification et de classification des Vitacces des zones tempérées". The "Dictionnaire encyclopédique des cépages", published in 2000, is regarded as a standard work with precise illustrations.
Galet travelled to every wine-growing region in the world and visited Afghanistan, Nepal, North Africa, North America, South America, South Korea, Thailand and Cyprus, among others, where he primarily assessed wild vines and hybrids based on their phenotype. In doing so, he acquired the ability to identify hundreds of grape varieties at first glance. His globally recognised achievements earned him the title "Officier de l'Ordre du Mérite Agricole" and numerous other honours. In 1983, he received an award from the International Vine Institute OIV for his complete works. The estate of his scientific work is kept at the Pierre Galet Centre of the Museum of Viticulture in Montméliain.
