Here we go for the 13th episode of the Club, in which we set off to discover phylloxera. When you’re passionate about wine, you often hear about this episode in the history of winegrowing. So let’s set off to discover it. Before we dive into all this, if this is the first time you’re listening to this podcast, there are 12 other episodes that you can enjoy right after this one. If you like this podcast, remember to give it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, it’s the most important thing for pushing it up the rankings. Finally, if you don’t want to miss a single episode of the Club, join the club for free.
Now that you’ve done all that, let’s dive into the history of phylloxera.
What is phylloxera?
Phylloxera is a tiny aphid that measures less than 0.5 millimetres. And yet it’s the most destructive insect the vine has ever known, and the vineyard experienced it some years ago now. By metonymy, its name is also given to the disease that affects the vine after it passes through. In particular, this little insect feeds on the roots of the vine, weakening it little by little and thus leading to its death. This insect is still present in European vineyards today, but we’ve developed techniques to fight it. So it’s vine phylloxera that we’re going to talk about today, and its consequences for the French and European vineyard.
The history of phylloxera
The story begins in the 1860s. Vines are struck by a mysterious disease that shows up as a kind of blistering on the leaves of the vines. The vine then gradually dies. The phenomenon spreads widely in France between 1866 and 1868. In 1868, in Saint-Martin-du-Crau, three experts examined dead vine stocks. Looking at them under a magnifying glass, they saw thousands of yellow dots. After closer observation, it was the discovery of this small devastating aphid: phylloxera. To pay tribute to him, it was precisely Jules-Émile Planchon, a French botanist, who first discovered phylloxera. The insect is especially terrible because it reproduces at high speed and is truly fatal for the vine.
Impact of phylloxera in France
Phylloxera affected the vines of every region of France: Bordeaux, Auvergne, Alsace, Champagne, Burgundy. Before phylloxera passed through, wine production in France was between 40 and 70 million hectolitres. In 1879, the production level dropped to 25 million hectolitres. The insect and its consequences completely changed the French vineyard. It went from 2.5 million hectares dedicated to vines in 1875 to 1.7 million in 1903. The majority of the European vineyard was affected by phylloxera. Beyond these figures at the macro level, the impact of this aphid was devastating for many small estates that lost their entire vineyard. Needless to say, a treatment for phylloxera had to be found.
The rootstock to fight phylloxera
To fight vine phylloxera, many experts were mobilised and many experiments were carried out. Some of them noticed that American vine plants don’t suffer from the disease. As a result, a first experiment consisted of planting American vines in French vineyards. This experiment has two sides. First, it showed that American vine plants resist the disease. However, the taste of the wine was greatly affected. It was at this point that the rootstock was invented. It consists of grafting scions of interesting grape varieties and species onto American vine plants. The experiment was rather conclusive, since this technique is still standard in the vast majority of French wine estates.
Ungrafted vines or rootstock
Today, some winegrowers question the place of the rootstock. That’s the case, for example, of Loïc Pasquet of Liber Pater. I also invite you to listen to episode 20 of the podcast in his company. He explains his whole vision of the rootstock and why it’s possible to make wine with ungrafted vines, that is to say without a rootstock. Ungrafted vines are still present in certain regions abroad, such as Chile for example. You can also learn more about this in the graphic novel about Liber Pater!
And there you have it, well done, you now know what phylloxera is. Once again we’ve seen that wine isn’t a drink like any other. Its history is full of incredible but sometimes dramatic episodes. Learning about wine is crucial to finally being able to enjoy it fully. So I’ll see you in the next episode. In the meantime, to keep up your wine-learning efforts, head to the Club. By signing up, you’ll be able to be notified of upcoming episodes and have all the bonuses that go with them, and learn about wine simply. It’s free, it’s interesting, and if you ever change your mind, you can unsubscribe whenever you like. So go and sign up right after this episode to our club.
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