The French bailiff Benoît Raclet (1780-1844) married into a family of winegrowers. He is considered the inventor of an effective measure to control the caterpillars of the dreaded vine pest
grape berry moth, which severely damaged the vineyards of the
Mâconnais in the first half of the 19th century. The invention was the result of good observation. The Raclets' vine plots were infested with the caterpillars (hayworm, sour worm), as were those of their neighbours, and only one
vine was unharmed. This vine stood in front of the kitchen window, from which his wife always poured out the hot water after washing up. The vine was regularly doused with water. Raclet correctly concluded that the pests were scalded.
After some experiments, he built a portable boiler in which the water was heated with charcoal. With this he sprayed his vines with boiling water in winter and in this way killed the grape berry moth larvae that hibernated under the bark. The superstitious, uneducated and arch-conservative rural population deeply distrusted Raclet's activities. When Raclet proudly announced the solution to the caterpillar problem in 1828, he was not taken seriously at first. It was not until 1842 that the "Méthode Raclet" finally found official recognition and appliance manufacturers began to develop manageable, portable boilers. The government posthumously awarded Raclet the Order of the Legion of Honour. In 1864, his portrait bust was inaugurated in the village square of Romanèche-Thorins. The "Fête Raclet" is celebrated every year.
