THE AMPÉLOGRAPHIE

This monumental work, conceived in 1883 under the direction of Pierre Viala, was compiled between 1900 and 1910. This is certainly not the first French text on Ampelography. The famous Essai d’Ampélographie (ou Traité des cépages) of Count Alexander Odart, had been published a few decades before, and had 7 editions. Some time before this, the excellent Vignoble of Victor Pulliat and Alphonse Mas had been published in France, whereas in Italy, G. di Rovasenda and in Germany, H. Goëthe had edited their precious yet concise essays.

However, none of the works of the time, and neither subsequent works, would equal Ampélographie edited by Viala for the number of cultivars described, the completeness of information provided, the viticultural Countries dealt with, and the richness of the iconography.

Following a first volume devoted to General Ampelography, which comprises among others the description of other genera and other species of the genus Vitis that differ from V. vinifera, the second to sixth volumes deal with more than 500 vine varieties represented by a colour plate. The text is organised for each cultivar in areas that address synonyms, history, and the geographical area of cultivation, comparative ampelography, agricultural and oenological characteristics, and a description of morphology.

In its entirety it comprises, Viala himself informs us, 3,200 pages.

One of the most innovative aspects of the way with which this work was conceived and drafted is that, despite the immense effort of coordination, it enabled the competent description of a surprising number of different vine varieties, not only French, and the fact that the cooperation of different local experts, who better than others knew the vine varieties of their own region and which they themselves cultivated, was requested and obtained. 85 regional experts participated in the preparation of the draft, of whom nearly half worked in different parts of France.

For this reason, Ampélographie represents a mine of practical information (from the distinctive characteristics of each vine variety, the problems of cultivation, to the intra-varietal variability and the oenological expression) which, even though dates back to the time when the study was carried out, was rarely superseded.

The artists J. Troncy, H. Gillet, H. M. Boisgontier, and A. Kreyder alternately painted the splendid plates.

The compilation of this work is also owed to the incomparable experience in the subject and the managerial skills of Pierre Viala, professor in Viticulture at the Higher School of Agronomy and also to the generosity of Senator V. Vermorel, who funded the work, after numerous editors at the time had refused the project, believing that the luxurious edition would be very costly. “Mr. V. Vermorel wanted Ampélographie to be a beautiful book” stated Viala.

It is certainly one of the most beautiful books on vines that are in existence.