Mention Phylloxera among grape growers and a shudder will pass down their spines. What is this deadly pest?

Phylloxera vastatrix means "the dry leaf devastator." This is exactly what happens when these microscopic aphids attack Vitis vinifera grapevine roots. In the 1800s they nearly wiped out most of the vineyards of Europe. No one knew where the pestilence had originated. The wine industries of France and California looked doomed.

The French government offered a prize of three hundred thousand gold francs for a solution. French botanist Jules-Émile Planchon discovered the tiny aphids. Assisted by American entomologist Charles Valentine Riley they used science to save the art of wine making.

Amazingly, the native grapevines of North America (Vitis labrusca) were resistent to Phylloxera. Planchon and Riley grafted vinifera vines to the roots of labrusca vines. This stopped the devistation of the vinifera vines, but the grapes retained their own unique characteristics.

Phylloxera forced many French winemakers to leave France for other areas of the world. Many winemakers from Bordeaux settled in the Rioja region of Spain.

Just as bacteria will evolve into new forms resistant to treatment, Phylloxera has continued to evolve. In 1996 many of the California vines were destroyed by a strain to which American grapevines were not resistant. The Ohio State Extension Office reports few chemicals can control Phylloxera. It is easily spread by equipment, increasing the danger of infestation. It is no wonder that grape growers and winemakers live in fear of a microscopic insect.

Taittinger

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