Phylloxera was a wrecking ball in wine history throughout the late 1800s and well into modern times. Learn how this aphid and the history of phylloxera has shaped global wine history in this category.
French appellation law began as an anti-fraud measure. Phylloxera caused the shortage, the shortage caused the counterfeiting, and the counterfeiting produced the AOC.
Charles Valentine Riley (1843–1895) confirmed phylloxera’s identity, shipped resistant American rootstock to France from 1870, and was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
Jules-Émile Planchon identified and named phylloxera in 1868 — a botanist who had spent his career naming plants, including the kiwifruit, before he was asked why France’s vines were dying.
A few vineyards never needed grafting. Santorini, Colares, Chile and the Barossa still grow vines on their own roots — living relics of the pre-phylloxera world.
In the 1980s phylloxera returned — in Napa. A rootstock France had abandoned in 1903 was planted across 70% of the valley, and biotype B destroyed it, forcing a $1bn replant.
Grapevines are grafted because of phylloxera — European fruit above ground, American roots below. How grafting works, where rootstocks come from, and why growers now choose them as carefully as the grape.
The Emergence of Phylloxera in Napa Valley Introduction: The History of Napa Valley and Phylloxera Even though there is historical evidence that a large number of wild grapes were native to Napa Valley, the […]
An Evaluation of Phylloxera's Impact on Spain Phylloxera proved to be an ecological and financial disaster for Europe's winemaking industry, including Spain. However, its influence eventually led to the beginning of a new era […]
Economic Impact of Phylloxera in Germany Even though war, colonization, and famine stormed multiple regions across the globe during the 19th century, Germany had a period of expanding prosperity after the Napoleonic Wars that […]
Vineyards below the snow-capped Andes in Mendoza — the high-altitude desert that made Argentine Malbec famous. Via Wikimedia Commons.By the This Day in Wine History Editorial Team✓ Researched, fact-checked & verifiedAugust 20267 min readArgentina […]
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