From Vine to Wine: Highlights from Special Collections

Frederic T. Bioletti

Frederic Theodore Bioletti was born in Liverpool, England. He started his studies and worked for the University of California assisting Dr. Hilgard as cellar foreman at the Agricultural Experiment Station in 1889, and then took charge of the Department of Viticulture after Dr. Hilgard in 1907. From 1889 to 1900, he carried out experiments on the fermentation of wines under different conditions. In 1912 he became a professor of viticulture at Berkeley and supervised research and instruction in viticulture at Davis. Bioletti argued for the departments of viticulture and enology to be united and for instruction and departmental facilities to be located and built in Davis. He wrote bulletins and hundreds of publications on viticulture and winemaking, covering topics such as phylloxera-resistant vineyards and wine cooling. At Berkeley, he was responsible for starting the grape breeding program in the Experiment Station.

After the repeal of Prohibition, research and instruction in enology resumed at the University of California. However, the early 1930s proved to be a difficult period for California wine: the Great Depression had a negative impact on the grape industry while Prohibition led to the neglect and deterioration of wineries. According to A.J. Winkler, due to Prohibition, “The industry’s lack of understanding of the basic requirements for wine production was about the same as in 1880 when the wine work was first initiated.” Along with William Vere Cruess, Edmund H. Twight, A.J. Winkler, and H.P. Olmo, Bioletti taught the generation of students who helped to revive the California wine industry after the repeal.

For more information about Bioletti, see the Frederic T. Bioletti Papers for correspondence, research materials, publications by Bioletti, and an extensive set of publications by others on a variety of agricultural topics.
 

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