Description
Correspondence, class materials, research files, wine judging files, published writings and patents, various committee files,
speeches, and biobibliographies.
Background
Vernon LeRoy Singleton was born on June 28, 1923 in Mill City, Oregon. His family moved to Indiana by 1940 and lived in Jackson
Township in Parke County. Singleton attended Purdue University but paused his education to serve in the United States Army
During World War II. He served as a field artillery officer from 1943 to 1946. After the war, Singleton returned to Purdue
University, obtaining a PhD in chemistry with a biochemistry focus in 1951.
Singleton spent his early years after university working in chemistry. He worked as a research chemist at Lederle Laboratories
in Pearl River, New York from 1951 to 1954, and then as a research chemist at the Pineapple Research Institute in Honolulu
from 1954 to 1958. In 1958, Singleton was recruited to the University of California, Davis by Professor Dinsmoor Webb. Singleton
was officially hired by the university's Department of Viticulture and Enology in the same year. Singleton lectured graduate
courses and researched grape phenolics as part of winemaking. He worked at UC Davis until 1991.
Singleton published a significant article with Joseph Rossi, Jr. in 1965 that detailed new methods to analyze phenolics in
grapes. This new method established a cost-effective way to analyze grapes in a wine laboratory. This process became the standard
for using chemistry to analyze the quality and attributes of wine. Singleton published another major article in 1969 with
Paul Esau that quantified and reviewed polyphenol chemistry. This article provided a foundation for further research in plant
aging that acted as a standard for decades to follow. He later worked on a study published in 1986 that explains the oxidation
process in the fermentation of grapes. Through this analysis, Singleton created the Grape Reaction Product (GRP) to measure
this phenomenon to better track and reduce oxidation in the winemaking process. Singleton published over 200 different articles
on viticulture and winemaking during his career.
In addition to his academic research, Singleton published two significant books on horticulture. He co-wrote Wine: An Introduction
for Americans (1965) with Maynard Amerine. The book won the Andre Simon Prize of the Wine and Food Society for being a useful
beginner's guide to viticulture. His other book is Principles and Practices of Winemaking and Wine published in 1996. This
book, which codified and streamlined methods for winemaking and wine analysis, received Le Prix en Oenologie for its contribution
to the field of viticulture. Singleton published four books on winemaking.
In later life, Singleton worked as a judge for various wine-making contests and festivals. He served as a judge for the California
State Fair Wine Competition and the Sacramento Bee's Celebration of Wines exhibition in 1979. Singleton was a member of the
American Chemical Society and the Institute of Food Technologists. He served as President of the American Society of Enologists
from 1975 to 1976. In 2011 the Culinary Institute of America inducted Singleton into the Vintner's Hall of Fame.
Restrictions
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission
to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to
include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.