Helmut Becker

Helmut Becker (8 March 1927 – 19 July 1990), German viticulturist, was chief of the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute.[1][2] As a successor of Heinrich Birk, he viewed viticulture from a global perspective and promoted the globalization of a quality wine industry. Dr. Becker collaborated with numerous scientists around the world and encouraged the importation of important clones and varieties in New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Japan and other countries. He did early important work in Neustadt/Weinstrasse during the 1950s and 1960s in the European phylloxera eradication program.

Some of the grape varieties bred by Helmut Becker at the Research Institute Geisenheim :

• 
  Saphira
• 
  Rondo
• 
  Prinzipal
• 
  Dakapo
• 
  Ehrenbreitsteiner

See also

• German wine
• List of wine personalities

References

1. Lon Rombough, The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic Viticulture Chelsea Green Publishing, 2002, ISBN 9781603580823, p. 175
2. Andrew G Reynolds, Grapevine Breeding Programs for the Wine Industry: Traditional and Molecular Techniques Elsevier, 2015, ISBN 9781782420804, p. 92 ff

Further reading

• Robinson, Jancis (Ed.) The Oxford Companion to Wine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, second edition, 1999.