Phylloxera Part 1

Phylloxera Part 1

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. When tasting at a winery or reading a wine book or webpage, I am certain many of you have seen references to phylloxera. Today I thought I would start a series of programs explaining what phylloxera is and what it has to do with wine.

Right around the late 1850’s a mysterious blight struck the vineyards of France devastating wine grape agriculture, the wine producing industry, and all aspects of the economy associated with it. Most of those employed in the industry immigrated to other countries. After a time, it was determined the devastation was being caused by a root louse. It is a tiny sap sucking insect, much like an aphid, in fact related to the aphid, it feeds on the roots of the vitis vinifera or European wine grapevine. In the roots these insects cause damage in the form of large deformations like nodules, which in turn create secondary fungal infections and together they girdle the roots, gradually cutting off the flow of water and nutrients. The plants die. It is believed phylloxera was inadvertently introduced to France by shipments of grapevine rootstock from North America. Phylloxera is native to North America and those species of grapes were at least partially resisitant to it. However, in Europe, vitis vinifera was very susceptible to the aphid. In 1863, the first vines began to deteriorate in the southern Rhone region of France and the problem spread rapidly across the continent. Tomorrow we will continue the story of phylloxera. In the meantime, send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today’s Vine to Wine.

 

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