< Previous Return to Index Next >

Maynard A. Amerine - 1985
Maynard A. Amerine helped guide California wine after Prohibition and into its glory days, serving as teacher, inspiration and conscience. Born in 1911, Amerine knew from an early age that he wanted to become an academic researcher. At UC, Davis, he developed the system that divides California by climatic zones, a schematic that still guides vintners in choosing the best grapes for a particular site. From 1957 to 1962, he was chairman of the Department of Viticulture and Enology at Davis. His books include the classic Wine: An Introduction. He died in 1998, at age 87. Photographed in 1985.

