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.
Pasteurization and Wine Diseases On 23 January 1860, the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty, an Anglo-French free trade agreement, was signed between Great Britain and France. The treaty ended tariffs on various items of trade, silk, wine, […]
Railways, Steamships, and Marketing: Modern Technology and the Emergence of the Global Wine Trade, c. 1800–2000 Introduction - The Wine Industry in 1800 The global wine industry has developed in enormous ways over the […]
A Historical Geography of Viticulture and the Wine Trade Historically, wine and vine have been vital to European culture and civilization. However, little research has been carried out on the history of viticulture and […]
Robots in Wineries as the Next Generation From the past to the present, everything about wine has often revolved around how to not only make the tasks on the vineyard less burdensome but also […]
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 […]
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