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Pasteur Louis

The French scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) made outstanding achievements in the fields of physics, chemistry, microbiology, agronomy and medicine. He was born in the western French town of Dôle in the department of Jura. In fact, in the very region where the famous Vin Jaune is produced in the Château-Chalon appellation. As early as 1857, he succeeded in proving the involvement of microorganisms in alcoholic fermentation. Until then, the process was unknown. In 1861, he recognised that yeasts consume much less sugar in the presence of oxygen or in an aerobic environment than in an anaerobic environment. In this context, we also speak of the "Pasteur effect" or "Crabtree effect". His numerous investigations of putrefaction and fermentation led him to the discovery of micro-organisms and in 1865 to a process that prevented decomposition, the pasteurisation named after him.

Pasteur Louis - Porträt, Museum in Paris, Pasteur mit Flasche

In 1863, Emperor Napoleon III. (1808-1873) to find out why so much wine spoils by going sour. If wine remained open to the air for too long, sooner or later it would inevitably turn into vinegar, but the cause was not yet known at the time. Pasteur returned to his home in the town of Arbois. The family home there was converted into a museum. Pasteur had always been fascinated by the complex fermentation processes in Vin Jaune, which are of great importance in this wine. In numerous experiments, he found that too much air supply and the chemical reaction of oxidation triggered by it favoured the spread of bacteria of all kinds. But he also proved that a small amount of oxygen can positively influence wine development (see oxygen management).

Through numerous experiments, Pasteur discovered the bacteria responsible for the formation of acetic acid (the Acetobacter). His findings about the enormous importance of hygiene in winemaking and the germicidal effect of sulphur radically changed the methods used until then and are still valid worldwide today. In 1867 he took over the chair of organic chemistry at the Sorbonne in Paris. On behalf of the French government, he researched various diseases of silkworms and recognised them as infectious diseases (for example, Pébrine disease or spotted fever). From 1876 onwards, he devoted himself entirely to human and veterinary medicine. He developed a vaccine against fowl cholera and thus made vaccination a general principle in the first place.

He was also involved in the fight against phylloxera. The horticultural expert Léopold Laliman (1817-1897) gave him wines from American vines for analysis. Pasteur then proposed in 1874 to fight phylloxera with soil fungi; however, the idea was never tested in practice. Finally, in 1885, he became chairman of the phylloxera commission set up by the Ministry of Agriculture. His numerous publications are available in a seven-volume complete work. These are Dissymétrie moléculaire; Fermentations et générations dites spontanées; Études sur le vinaigre et sur le vin; Études sur la maladie des vers à soie; Etudes sur la bière; Maladies virulentes, virus-vaccins et prophylaxie de la rage and Mélanges scientifiques et littéraires. From Pasteur also comes the statement "Wine is the healthiest and most hygienic drink of all."

Louis Pasteur portrait: from Paul Nadar, Public domain, Link
Museum: by Luca Borghi - Own work, Public domain, Link
Pasteur with bottle: by Albert Edelfelt, Public domain, Link

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Dominik Trick

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Dominik Trick
Technischer Lehrer, staatl. geprüfter Sommelier, Hotelfachschule Heidelberg

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