Gerhard Troost

Gerhard Troost (born November 18, 1906 in Trier ; † May 3, 1999 in Geisenheim ) was a scientist in the field of cellar management and viticulture at the Geisenheim Research Institute . He was the author of several scientific books that are still considered standard works in these areas today.

Family and youth

Gerhard Troost grew up in Trier in a family shaped by viticulture. His father was a cellar master on the Charlottenau in Trier, his mother's family had a winery near Würzburg. He left school in 1921 when he graduated from the Obertertia and began practical training in wine-growing businesses on the Ahr and Moselle rivers. In Trier he also attended the viticulture school.

Studies and first activities in Geisenheim

In 1929 Gerhard Troost began his studies at the teaching and research institute in Geisenheim. After completing his four-semester degree in viticulture with the final examination to become a state-certified viticulture technician, he completed a fifth "educational" semester. From June 1, 1931, he worked for the scientific department of vine grafting , which at that time was under the direction of Karl Kroemer .

From 1934 he was a technical assistant at the Botanical Institute of the Geisenheim teaching and research institute. He worked there in the fields of ampelography , vine grafting and fermentation physiological work. Troost could also be found in microscopy and botanical teaching.

Activities in the cellar economy and as an author

In 1935 Troost passed his second state technical examination as a qualified viticulture inspector and in 1937 changed the institute, now as an assistant teacher for cellar management. At the Institute for Viticulture and Cellar Management he then took over from July 1, 1939 as a senior viticulture teacher teaching in the field of cellar management. Gerhard Troost worked in this teaching and research area until his retirement in 1973.

After the interruption of his teaching and research activities by the Second World War , he was able to resume his work in 1945. A great professional success in addition to his work as an internationally renowned specialist author was the detachment of the cellar management department from the previously joint institute for viticulture and cellar management and the establishment of a separate institute for cellar management. Further stages of his professional life in Geisenheim were his appointment to the faculty member in 1963, to the senior lecturer in 1966 and to professor at the Wiesbaden University of Applied Sciences in 1973 .

Gerhard Troost had a lasting impact on the research and teaching area of ​​cellar management at the Geisenheim Research Institute. He was also very involved in practice - it was on his initiative that the management conference for cellar management, which took place in Geisenheim and which still arouses great interest from practitioners, goes back to today. As a specialist author, he wrote the standard work for cellar management, "The Technology of Wine" . This book was first published in 1953 and is now in its sixth revised edition (published in 1988). Another standard work is almost as well-known, the book "Sekt, Schaumwein, Perlwein", first published in 1980 , in addition to over 200 publications on all kinds of specialist topics that Troost wrote during his academic career and his retirement.

Awards

Gerhard Troost has received numerous awards for his services to viticulture and cellar management. In addition to the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon, the German Agricultural Society honored him with the Basserman-Jordan Medal from the DLG and the city of Geisenheim with its honor plate. Since 1987 he has also been an honorary member of the Society for the History of Wine (GGW). In 1997 he was awarded the “Prix en Oenologie pour le vivre” by the International Organization for Vine and Wine (Office International de la Vigne et du Vin, OIV) for his book “Sekt, Schaum- und Perlwein” .

literature

• Gerhard Troost: Technology of Wine. 6th revised and expanded edition, Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8001-5816-7
• Gerhard Troost, Hans Peter Bach, and Otto H. Rhein: Sekt, sparkling wine, sparkling wine. 2nd revised and expanded edition, Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-8001-5818-3

Web links

• Literature by and about Gerhard Troost in the catalog of the German National Library
• Society for the history of wine eV - personalities of the wine culture: Gerhard Troost