Second Edition of Grape Man of Texas Released

By Daniel Dessinger

July 15, 2008

Next time you raise a glass of fine wine or cognac to your lips, stop and thank…a Texan.

Released in April 2008, Grape Man of Texas: Thomas Volney Munson & the Origins of American Viticulture, by Sherrie S. McLeRoy and Roy E. Renfro, Jr., Ph.D., is a newly expaned edition of the award-wining biography. The first edition received several enthusiastic accolades, including the “Best Wine History Book in the World for 2004” awarded by Gourmand International, who dubbed it “a very important book for wine history.”

This updated second edition includes a new chapter that highlights Munson’s influence and legacy. The material includes new insights into the phylloxera period and details the impact of his research and hybrid varietals on modern viticulture. This edition also provides a fresh listing of his publications and additional, never-before published photos and reproductions of his work.

T.V. Munson (1843-1913) is an internationally known Texas horticulturalist who developed over 300 distinct varieties of grapes. He is one of only seven top breeders who originated nearly half of all the hybrids listed in the Vitis International Variety Catalogue. His cutting-edge work in breeding new grape and plant varieties made him a leader of the period's "new science" movement. For his efforts in curing the phylloxera epidemic in Europe, he received the Chevalier du Merite Agricole in the French Legion of Honor. His articles, experiments, correspondence, speeches, exhibits, grape classifications, and numerous inventions (including a dual-prop helicopter) reveal not only a thirst for scientific knowledge but also a humanist's passion to make the world a better place.

Grape Man of Texas, the illuminating biography of this unsung Texas hero who is still being honored nearly a century after his death, is a must-read for wine enthusiasts and scholars alike.

Book info:

Grape Man of Texas:
Thomas Volney Munson & the Origins of American Viticulture
by Sherrie S. McLeRoy & Roy E. Renfro, Jr., Ph.D.
The Wine Appreciation Guild
April 2008 · 2nd Edition · 334 pages · $24.95 · Hardcover
ISBN 978-1-934259-04-7