author
George Husmann
1827–1902
A German-born pioneer of American winemaking, he helped build Missouri’s grape industry and later carried his expertise to California. His practical books on grape culture and wine making made him one of the best-known wine writers of the 19th century.
1 Audiobook
The Cultivation of The Native Grape, and Manufacture of American Wines
by George Husmann
About the author
Born in Prussia in 1827, he came to Hermann, Missouri, as a child with his family and grew up in a community that was deeply invested in grape growing and wine. He began working with vineyards at a young age and became a leading advocate for Missouri as a serious wine region.
In the 1850s and 1860s, he built vineyards, operated a winery in Hermann, and earned a reputation as an expert on American grapes. He wrote influential books including The Cultivation of the Native Grape, and Manufacture of American Wines and American Grape Growing and Wine Making, works that helped spread practical knowledge to growers across the country.
Later, he taught horticulture at the University of Missouri and moved on to California, where he continued his work in viticulture. He is still remembered as a major figure in both Missouri and early California wine history, and for helping promote the use of American rootstock during the phylloxera crisis that devastated European vineyards.