Hermann Müller (Swiss botanist)

Hermann Müller (21 October 1850 in Tägerwilen, Thurgau, Switzerland – 18 January 1927, in Wädenswil, Zurich), was a Swiss botanist, plant physiologist, oenologist and grape breeder.

During the years 1876–1890 he worked at the Prussian Institute for Horticulture and Viticulture (Königlich Preussische Lehranstalt für Obst- und Weinbau) in Geisenheim, Rheingau where he led its experimental station for plant physiology.

Müller's goal was to combine the aromatic properties of Riesling with the earlier and more reliable ripening of Silvaner.

Dern introduced the name "Müller-Thurgau" for the variety, while Müller himself continued to call it Riesling x Silvaner 1, although he did express doubts that this was the actual parentage of the new variety, and speculated that some misidentification of vine material could have occurred in the move from Geisenheim to Wädenswil.

[3][4] Many experimental plantations of Müller-Thurgau in Germany were conducted from 1920, and its breakthrough from 1938 is credited to the grape breeder Georg Scheu in Alzey.