Name/Title
LetterEntry/Object ID
Q2022.21.221Scope and Content
A 2-page letter from Gary Bertrand, Chemistry Dept., University of Missouri - Rolla to Dr. Willbur McDonald, dated August 22, 1974.Context
Dear Dr. McDonald:
I have heard of your efforts to grow vinifera grapes, but I have heard conflicting reports of your success. I would like to lean of your successes and/or failures, . . . . to see which will do best in my location. I . . have growing, but not producing: . . . . . . . . In my cutting bed, to be planted next Spring, I have . . . . . . . .along with some cuttings I took from Mr. Bill Stoltz' vineyard: . . . . . . I am thinking of getting plants or cuttings . . of . . . . and a couple of others . . . . - and I would appreciate your advice.
My interest here is semi-professional. I am an amateur wine-maker, one of the very few ones in the state, and I'm an Associate Professor of Chemistry . . .While my . . . background is hardly related to enology . . . my interest n wine and local wine industry led me ro organize a group. . . . to provide technical service to the local wineries through the University's Extension Division. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The most exciting part of this work so far is the establishment of a Grape testing program under the direction of Prof. Art Gaus . . . , in which a number of varieties . . . . will be grown in five experimental vineyards located generally in this area. . . . . My group will join that project when those grapes start producing. . . . , in addition to our technical service . . . , we are starting a project . . . . . , to evaluate the present status of wines with respect to quality, marketability, and promotion to serve a "baseline" for future studies of the potential wine industry in Missouri.
. . . I have managed to mesh my hobby with my profession, . . . I may eventually end up completely in the grape and wine business, . . . . . . . . . My own feelings are that if we are ever to really develop , we must grow the grapes and produce wine of comparable or better quality than California. . . . . I believe we can do this with vinifera, . . . . . . In any case, I would appreciate your advice on your experience with promising varieties . . . . . . Any advice along these lines will also be appreciated.
I hope that you have - or are having - a better harvest than we have here.
Sincerely yours,Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
LetterNomenclature Primary Object Term
CorrespondenceNomenclature Sub-Class
Other DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsDimensions
Dimension Notes
8.5" x 11"
