Historic gallery at Discovery Center celebrates how Missouri saved the wine industry

A new Discovery Center gallery celebrates the life and work of Hermann Jaeger, a Swiss winemaker who helped save the worldwide wine industry from right here in Missouri. Jaeger settled in the Ozarks in 1865, and his viticulture work with Missouri grapevines in later decades helped vineyard rescue efforts in Europe.

Dr. Courtney Coleman, a Discovery Center lab scientist, was among the Missouri State University researchers who created the gallery in 2011. Dr. Coleman and an international team investigated disease-resistant genes that Jaeger harnessed from the wild. She told the News-Leader that in her work, she discovered most Missourians weren't up to speed on the long history of viticulture in the Show Me State.

"People in other viticultural areas — so in France, in Italy, in California even — people seem to be more aware of the role that Missouri played in international viticulture than the people who live here now," Dr. Coleman said.

The gallery, which is housed on the Discovery Center's third floor, was originally on display in Neosho, where Jaeger lived and worked. It has also been on display at the MSU Student Exhibition Center in Springfield.

How Hermann Jaeger's work with Missouri grapevines saved the worldwide wine industry

Hermann Jaeger was a famed viticulturist and Swiss immigrant to Missouri. He is most famous for gathering wild Missouri grape cuttings resistant to root damage caused by phylloxera, a destructive insect pest that was destroying European vineyards in the 1870s and 1880s.

"They went around collecting things that they knew were resistant to phylloxera and would also root well," Dr. Coleman said.

Thousands of native Missouri resistant vine rootstocks were sent to Europe in hopes of eradicating or slowing the phylloxera outbreak. These rootstocks were grafted with European grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.

“And then they shipped them over by the train car load," Dr. Coleman said. "And now, the vineyards that are planted there are on Missouri rootstocks."

Jaeger's work ultimately saved the European wine industry. The technique of grafting European varieties onto pest-resistant rootstocks caught on. According to Coleman, this still represents the first and most sustainable method of pest prevention without pesticides.

In 1893, Jaeger was subsequently made Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur, France's highest honor.

'We want to offer more stuff like this': Appealing to adults and older kids

The gallery plans to feature a descendant of one of Jaeger's grapevines, which volunteers were planting upon the News-Leader's visit to the Discovery Center. The vine and rootstock is a cross between a Cabernet Sauvignon pollen parent and a Munson (also called Jaeger 70) seed parent.

"It's great that a breeder was keen enough on the history to be able to keep that variant alive," Moles said.

The exhibit area will also introduce Missouri's first ever TerraBall table, a fusion of Skee-Ball, billiards, shuffleboard, and topography. The game table, created by Napa Valley artist Vincent Thomas Connors, is the first of its kind in Missouri. The game aims to keep younger kids occupied while parents and older visitors to the Discovery Center can enjoy a more museum-like exhibit.

"This is really heavy, highly educational stuff. So parents and older kids — mostly parents — are going to want to read this. They can't do that if their kids aren't occupied," Discovery Center CEO Tyler Moles said.

Moles, who stepped into the role of CEO at the Discovery Center earlier this year, said he wants to incorporate more exhibits like the Hermann Jaeger gallery.

"This is sort of a foray into that," he said. "what we hope to do next is bring in a Smithsonian exhibit. And this is like a trial run of bringing in an older crowd.

About the Discovery Center

The Discovery Center is a science center, children's museum, and private school district that serves more than 100,000 annual visitors. The center was the inaugural winner of the Yass Prize of Education from the Center for Education winner from the Center for Education Reform and Forbes in 2021.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Discovery Center gallery celebrates how Missouri saved wine industry