An AmpelWHATapher?

Ampelography is one of the funniest sounding words in wine, a field that's full of potential puns and double entendres. It means simply, the study and identification of grapevines. And Lucie Morton is one of this country's leading ampelographers. But she's not just good at identifying grapevines - Morton identifies and wages war on grapevine pests and diseases. She is also a revered vineyard consultant here in the Eastern United States (though she also has clients in California and France).

Think "revered" is a bit strong for a vineyard consultant? Well, check out my column on Lucie in this week's Washington Post Food section. Two of her clients use religious imagery while speaking of her - one calls her "our Moses leading us from the wilderness" while the other describes his "Road to Damascus moment" when he tasted a wine from one of her clients and became a convert to the gospel of high-density planting. And don't miss my recommendations of wines produced by some of her local clients.

Comments

[Mark Cochard]

Hey Dave, Just to expand a little, Ampelography is the study of grape leaf morphology for the identification of grape varieties.
With the advent of DNA mappping, you would think studying grape leaf morhology would go the way of the dinosaur. This not the case. I asked Lucie when I met her a couple of years ago, as she was heading up the planting of 8 acres at the Hauser Estate in PA, if ampelograhy was still in use, She responded absolutely mainly going to vineyards to help growers identify what is actually growing in their vineyards. I belive she metioned trips to NZ and OZ doing this.

[Dave McIntyre]

Thanks for the elucidation, Mark! Or was that an e-lucie-dation?