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Missouri’s Grape and Wine Industry: Historic and Thriving

Missouri’s Grape and Wine Industry: Historic and Thriving. by Suzi Teghtmeyer Agriculture, Botany and Forestry Librarian Michigan State University MSUE AgNIC Librarian (Viticulture). Introduction. Unbeknownst to many, Missouri has a rich history in the grape and wine production.

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Missouri’s Grape and Wine Industry: Historic and Thriving

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  1. Missouri’sGrape and Wine Industry:Historic and Thriving by Suzi Teghtmeyer Agriculture, Botany and Forestry Librarian Michigan State University MSUE AgNIC Librarian (Viticulture)

  2. Introduction • Unbeknownst to many, Missouri has a rich history in the grape and wine production. • Has the native grapes Vitis riparia, V. labrusca and V. cordifolia • Well-known varieties planted today (native and introduced): Norton’s Virginia Seedling, Cynthiana, Catawba, Concord, Chardonel, Vignoles, Vidal Blanc, Chambourcin, Chancellor, Seyval, Cayuga White, Traminette and St. Vincent

  3. Physical characteristics • Missouri terrain varies widely across the state • Hermann, west of St. Louis, and south along the Mississippi similar to the German Rhine region • Southwest Missouri drier, rockier • Climate – cold winters, often late spring frosts, humid summers • Pests and diseases – rots, mildews, Junebugs • Phylloxera moving in from the south

  4. Historic Figures • Many 18th century grape growers and wine makers got their start in Missouri. Six reach national and international recognition: • Friedrich Münch (1799-1881) • George Husmann (1827-1903) • Isador Bush (1822-1888) • George Engelmann (1809-1884) • Herman Jaeger (1844-1895?) • Charles Valentine Riley (1843-1895)

  5. FriedrichMünch (1799-1881) • German immigrant to Augusta, MO • Wrote School for American Grape Culture (1859) • This book is noteworthy for being one of the first books to describe grape culture and winemaking as a step-by-step approach • Active in state legislature and Missouri Horticulture Society • State Historical Society of Missouri

  6. George Husmann (1827-1902) • German, emigrated to Missouri in 1835 • Harvested the first grapes in Hermann in 1845, made wine in 1846 • Left for California in 1850, returned in 1852 due to inheritance of property • Introduced Concord to Missouri in 1855 • In 1859 founded the Missouri Fruit Growers’ Assoc./Missouri Hort. Society (1861) • 1866 published The Cultivation of the Native Grape and the Manufacture of American Wine • President of Bluffton Wine Company, 1869-1872

  7. George Husmann, cont. • 1869-1871 edited the journal Grape Culturalist (with Charles Frings) • First Professor of Pomology and Superintendent of Forestry at the University of Missouri, 1878-1881 • 1880 founded the Mississippi Valley Hort. Society; became American Horticultural Society in 1885 • Left Missouri for California in 1881 • Published Grape Culture and Wine Making in California in 1888

  8. Isador Bush (1822-1888) • Immigrated from Prague, Bohemia at age 27 to Bushberg, MO in Jefferson County. • Fought heavily in the Civil War for the abolishment of slavery • Established the nursery Isador Bush & Co. in 1870

  9. Isador Bush (1822-1888) Bushberg Catalogue (1869, 1st ed.) • Described all aspects of grape culture, pest management, and varietal descriptions • The only Missouri viticultural publication published internationally; translated into French and Italian

  10. Bush, cont. Full text (pdf) of the 1875 (2nd) Bushberg Catalogue can be downloaded from the Internet Archive-note the subtitle change: • Illustrated descriptive catalogue of American grape-vines, with brief directions for their culture (1875) • http://www.archive.org/details/illustrateddescr00bushrich • Illustrated descriptive catalogue of American grape vines. A grape growers' manual (3rd. ed. 1883) • http://www.archive.org/details/illustrateddesc00bushrich

  11. George Engelmann (1809-1884) • A German physician and botanist, eventually settled in St. Louis in 1847 • Collaborated with Asa Gray on plant collecting in the Midwest • Worked w/ Henry Shaw to est. MO Botanical Garden; 1859 chief scientific advisor • In 1860 published “Notes on the Grape-vines of Missouri” • 1872 worked w/ Riley to solve Phylloxera problem State Historical Society of Missouri

  12. Herman Jaeger (1844-1895?) • Swiss immigrant • Grape breeder, settled at Neosho, Newton County, MO • Experimented with breeding and hybridizing with native spp V. aestivalis (summer grape) and V. cordifoila (frost or possum grape) • In 1888 he was awarded the French Legion of Honor for his role in sending Phylloxera- resilient rootstock to France.

  13. Charles Valentine Riley (1843-95) • English by birth, French by education • Was Missouri’s first State Entomologist, 1868 • Was a follower of Darwin’s scientific approach and observation • Published …Annual report of the Noxious, Beneficial and Other Insects in the State of Missouri

  14. Riley, cont. • 1871, began working with J.E. Planchon, Prof. at the School of Ag, Montpelier • Worked with Isador Bush vineyards to identify the root stage of Phylloxera • Promoted grafting to Planchon as solution to infestation (very controversial in France) • Due to success, received many medals of honor in France; NAL had permanent display of his belongings on display

  15. 20th Century • Mid 1880s Missouri was 2nd to Ohio in wine production. • Decline began due to growing in other areas of US and demand • More and more counties went dry • Prohibition passed in 1919 • Most areas in Missouri pulled up vines or began growing table grapes • One area , however, increased production…

  16. Knobview – Rosati Vineyards • Italian immigrant settlement in Knobview, MO, in 1897 • On the northern edge of the Ozarks, near St. James, Phelps Co. and Frisco Railroad Line • Planted subsistence farms, including vineyards of Concord and Catawba • 1920s – supplying grapes to major Midwestern cities • 1922 contracted with Welch’s to supply Springdale, Ark. Plant (until 1991) • 1924 MO reached highest grape acreage in 20th century • 1931 Knobview renamed Rosati

  17. Knobview – Rosati Vineyards (cont.) • 1931 – Repeal • 1933 – Rosati Winery established but declined quickly, burned down in 1969, rebuilt in the 1971) • 1944 – a German POW camp was established to help harvest grapes • 1987 Ozark Highland AVA established to identify this area

  18. AVAs of Missouri • Missouri has 4 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) • Missouri AVAs (color) • AVA Augusta, was the first appellation to be recognized in 1980, 15 miles • AVA Hermann, 1983 • AVA Ozark Mountain (multi-state) Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma, 3.5 million acres • Ozark Highland, 1987

  19. Research in the 20th Century • 1899 Missouri State Fruit Experiment Station established in Mountain Grove, SW, in the Ozarks • 1974 merged with SW Missouri State University • 1984 the Missouri Wine and Grape Program est.; wine tax imposed • In the 1980s started the annual Midwest Regional Grape and Wine Conference series (proceedings available; link to the tables of contents) • Missouri Grape Importation and Certification Program begun in 1993 • 1999 Paul Evans Library of Fruit Science established; built collection of grape and wine materials to support research • Mid-America Viticulture and Enology Center (MVEC) est. in 1999

  20. 21st Century • Center for Grapevine Biotechnology in ~2003 • Dr. Laszlo Kovacs and Dr. Wenping Qiu • Vitis Gene Discovery Program “A Mission to Explore the Genetic Resources of Native North American Grape Species” • Grapevine of concentration is Vitis aestivalis 'Norton‘ • Grapevine Resistance-gene Exploration and Expression Database (GREED) • EST Database - The 146 ESTs from V. aestivalis var. Norton released on January 23, 2003 are accessible • International Grape Genome Program

  21. 21st Century, cont. • 2003-4 the Missouri Grape and Wine Advisory Board became the Grape and Wine Board • 2004 VESTA, the Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance, was formed to offer an associate degree through MSU-WP campus • MVEC left MSU in 2006, became the Institute for Continental Climate Viticulture and Enology at MU-Columbia • In 2008 began publishing the online newsletter: The Midwest Winegrower: Quarterly Newsletter

  22. 21st Century, cont. • Political tensions are high in Missouri, but the G & W production and tourism industries are growing regardless • Retail value of Missouri wine, 2005: $43.1 million; 50 wineries • 700,000 gallons produced • 85% wine produced from Missouri grown grapes, 15% imported from many states; 11th in grape prod. • Grape, wine and related industries supports about 5,700 jobs

  23. Literature Cited & Recommended • Poletti, Peter Joseph. An interdisciplinary study of the Missouri grape and wine industry, 1650 to 1989. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Saint Louis University, 1989. • Christensen, Lawrence O. Dictionary of Missouri Biography. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, c1999. • The Economic Impact of Wine and Grapes on the Missouri Economy. An MKF Research LLC Report. September 2007. • Fusonie, Alan. Missouri and France: The Charles Valentine Riley Connection. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Soc. 1996. 69.2: 109-121. • Morton, Lucie T. Winemaking Renaissance in Hermann, Missouri. Historic Preservation. 1984. 36(6): 38-41. • Muehl, Siegmar. Isidor Bush and The Bushberg Vineyards Of Jefferson County. Missouri Historical Review. 1999. 94(1): 42-58. • Muehl, Siegmar. The Wild Missouri Grape and Nineteenth-Century Viticulture. Missouri Historical Review. 1997. 91(4): 373-384. • Muehl, Siegmar. Winegrowing In The Hermann Area: Early Years' Chronicle. Missouri Historical Review. 1993. 87(3): 233-252. • Scheef, Robert F. Prohibition Vineyards: The Italian Contribution To Viticulture In Missouri. Missouri Historical Review. 1994. 88(3): 279-300. • Stevens, Linda Walker. The Making of a Superior Immigrant: George Husmann 1837-1854. Missouri Historical Review. 1995. 89(2): 119-138. • AgNIC Viticulture Site: http://www.msue.msu.edu/portal/default.cfm?pageset_id=429445

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