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Pre-Phylloxera wine chemistry, caught at the edge of a scientific rewrite.
Mohr, Friedrich
Der Weinbau und die Weinbereitungskunde
1865, Braunschweig (Brunswick), Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn
First Edition
Overview
Friedrich Mohr's Der Weinbau und die Weinbereitungskunde, published in 1865 as part of Dr. B. Bolley's Handbuch der chemischen Technologie, records mid-19th-century viticultural science immediately before the Phylloxera crisis. Written 26 years before Sahut's study, it privileges chemical analysis, fermentation theory, and laboratory technique over later disease response. Mohr's molecular notation and quantitative fermentation work sit on the cusp of nineteenth-century shifts: Pasteur's biological proof of yeast (1857) had not yet displaced older chemical explanations. The volume exemplifies the period's effort to link chemistry, agriculture, and industry and is a primary-source witness to pre-Phylloxera enological thought.
Inside the book
The volume is illustrated with 39 engravings and opens with a botanical definition of the Weinstock (Vitis), accompanied by fig. 4. It proceeds to outline methods of pruning and training, followed by a treatment of nineteenth-century fermentation theory, with fig. 6–13 elucidating the process. Fig. 20 presents a beam-and-screw Weinkelter, together with the corresponding pressing technique. The text specifies a fermentation period of 18 to 30 days and includes quantitative tables indicating a ratio of 1 g ferment to 100 g sugar. A section entitled Zur Beurtheilung des Weines classifies adulteration into three groups and discusses their chemical detection. Fig. 21–22 depict instruments for measuring acidity, noting a value of 7.5 Gradchen. The work concludes with a section devoted to wines derived from honey and small fruits.
Why La Fenice chose it
A pre-phylloxera snapshot in which chemistry engages with craft: Mohr explains, depicts, and measures sugar, yeast, and veracity before Pasteur resolves the matter through science.
Condition Report
Pp. [1] f.e., VIII, 164, [6], [1] r.e.
Contemporary plain dark green cloth binding, with gilt title and six flat bands; front board and edges with some scratches. Sprinkled edges. Blue ink stamp “Drucker János, Budapest” to the front endpaper and title page. Blind stamp to the title page, “Dr. Farkas Mihály.” One small dark spot to the final leaf. A sound copy with moderate exterior wear.
Dimensions (inches): 8 5/8 x 5 1/2 x 1/2
About the author
Friedrich Mohr (1806-1879) was a German chemist known for work in analytical chemistry and laboratory methods.