Pierre Galet (28 January 1921 – 30 December 2019) was a French
ampelographer
Ampelography ( ἄμπελος, "vine" + γράφος, "writing") is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, ''Vitis'' spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and colour of the ...
and author who was an influential figure within ampelography in the 20th century and before
DNA typing
Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
was widely introduced. Beginning in the 1950s, Pierre Galet introduced a system for identifying
varieties
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
based on the shape, contours and characteristics of the leaves of the vines,
petioles, growing
shoot
In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages, leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the spri ...
s, shoot tips, grape clusters, as well as the colour, size,
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
content and flavour of the grapes. The impact and comprehensiveness of his work earned him the consideration as the "father of modern ampelography".
[ J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 295 Oxford University Press 2006 ] He started publishing within ampelography in the 1950s and his Ph.D. thesis was presented in 1967. He has also written popular science books on grape varieties. Galet was active at the
École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Montpellier.
Biography
Pierre Galet was born in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
in 1921 and spent most his life in southern France. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Galet hid from the
German authorities at the
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest univ ...
. There he spent extensive amounts of time among the Department of
Viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...
's ''
Vitis
''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, b ...
'' collection which included samples of grapevines from across the globe. While there he was able to study the differences and learn about the different varieties. After the war, Galet would accept a teaching position at the University where from 1946-1989, he was at the forefront of advances in ampelography and was the mentor to several of the leading ampelographers of the late 20th century. Among his students was
Paul Truel
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
, who would categorize and identify several
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
grapes varieties in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. In addition to teaching, Galet traveled to wine regions in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
,
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
,
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
and throughout
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
identifying grape varieties and settling legal disputes involving them.
One such legal dispute involved the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
regulations banning the use of American ''
Vitis Labrusca
''Vitis labrusca'', the fox grape, is a species of grapevines belonging to the ''Vitis'' genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to eastern North America and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba, Co ...
'' vines, such as
Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...
and
Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
, in European vineyards. Galet has long been an advocate against forcing the mandatory uprooting of these vines, believing the ban is
anachronistic
An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...
.
Galet died on 31 December 2019 at the age of 98, four weeks before his 99th birthday.
Discoveries and findings
Through the course of his work, Galet has identified over 100 distinct grape varieties belonging to the
Pinot family
Pinot (pronounced ) is a Burgundian grape family.
Wine grape varieties in the Pinot family
* Pinot blanc (Pinot bianco, Weißburgunder)
* Pinot gris (Pinot grigio, Grauburgunder)
* Pinot Meunier (Schwarzriesling)
* Pinot noir (Spätburgunder, ...
. He has also identified vines across the globe that were mistakenly thought to be Pinot, long before DNA fingerprinting was widely used. One such occurrence happened in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in the 1980s when Galet discovered that vines labeled
Pinot blanc
Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produces white ...
were actually
Melon de Bourgogne
Melon de Bourgogne or Melon is a variety of white grape grown primarily in the Loire Valley region of France. It is also grown in North America. It is best known through its use in the white wine Muscadet.
In the U.S., Federal law prevents ...
, a grape commonly associated with the
Muscadet
Muscadet ( , , ) is a French wine, French white wine. It is made at the western end of the Loire Valley (wine), Loire Valley, near the city of Nantes in the Pays de la Loire region. It is made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape, often referred t ...
wines of the
Loire Valley. These so-called "Pinot blanc"
cutting
Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force.
Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...
s were provided by the
University of California at Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
who mislabeled them. For more on this error, see also "Melon de Bourgogne - History" at MelonDeBourgogne.com.
[Mike Lempriere ']
Melon de Bourgogne - History
'' MelonDeBourgogne.com
Writings
Between 1956 and 1964, Galet published ''Cépages et vignoble de France'', a four volume catalog of
French wine
French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and America ...
grape varieties. In 1977 and 1982, his two volume work, ''Maladies et parasites de la vigne'', on various ailments and
grape disease
This is a list of diseases of grapes (''Vitis'' spp.).
Bacterial diseases
Fungal diseases
Miscellaneous diseases and disorders
Nematodes, parasitic
Phytoplasma, virus and viruslike diseases
See also
*'' Ampeloglypter ater''
*'' Am ...
s was released and followed by the fifth edition of his handbook ''Précis de viticulture'' in 1988. In 2000, Galet released ''Dictionnaire encyclopédique des cépages'', a comprehensive catalog of grape varieties from across the globe including their international synonyms. His student, ampelographer
Lucie Morton
Lucie is the French and Czech form of the female name Lucia. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Lucie Ahl, British tennis player
* Lucie Arnaz, American actress
* Lucie Aubrac, member of the French Resistance
* Lucie Balthazar ...
, was influential in having much of Galet's work translated into
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
Awards and recognition
For his work in the advancement of viticulture and ampelography, Galet was made an ''Officier de l'
Ordre du Mérite Agricole
The Order of Agricultural Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite agricole) is an order of merit bestowed by the French Republic for outstanding contributions to agriculture. When it was created in 1883, it was second in importance only to th ...
''. In 1983, he was given a prize of special recognition by the ''L'Office national interprofessionnel des vins'' (OIV), the association of French vintners, for the collective body of his work.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galet, Pierre
1921 births
2019 deaths
20th-century French botanists
Officers of the Order of Agricultural Merit