Phylloxera

Phylloxera PDF Author: Christopher Campbell
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN:
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
A historical investigation into the mysterious bug that wiped out the vineyards of, first, France and then Europe in the 1860s -- and how one young botanist, who had served an apprenticeship at Kew Gardens, eventually 'saved wine for the world'. Bordeaux, inexplicably began to wither and die. Panic seized France, and Jules-Emile Planchon, a botanist from Montpellier, was sent to investigate. Magnifying glass in hand, he discovered the roots of a dying vine covered in microscopic yellow insects. The tiny aphid would be named Phylloxera vastatrix -- 'the dry leaf devastator'. Where it had come from was utterly mysterious, but it advanced with the speed of an invading army. As the noblest vineyards of France came under biological siege, the world's greatest wine industry tottered on the brink of ruin. The grand owners fought the aphid with expensive insecticide, while peasant vignerons simply abandoned their ruined plots in despair. Within a few years the plague had spread across Europe, from Portugal to the Crimea. the parasite had accidentally been imported from America. He believed that only the introduction of American vines, which appeared to have developed a resistance to the aphid, could save France's vineyards. His opponents maintained that this would merely assist the spread of the disease. Meanwhile, encouraged by the French government's offer of a prize of 300,000 gold francs for a remedy, increasingly bizarre suggestions flooded in, and many wine-growing regions came close to revolution as whole local economies were obliterated. Eventually Planchon and his supporters won the day, and phylloxera-resistant American vines were grafted onto European root-stock. Despite some setbacks -- the first fruits of transplanted American vines were universally pronounced undrinkable -- by 1914 all vines cultivated in France were hybrid Americans. of one of the earliest and most successful applications of science to an ecological disaster.

Phylloxera

Phylloxera PDF Author: Christopher Campbell
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN:
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 392

Get Book Here

Book Description
A historical investigation into the mysterious bug that wiped out the vineyards of, first, France and then Europe in the 1860s -- and how one young botanist, who had served an apprenticeship at Kew Gardens, eventually 'saved wine for the world'. Bordeaux, inexplicably began to wither and die. Panic seized France, and Jules-Emile Planchon, a botanist from Montpellier, was sent to investigate. Magnifying glass in hand, he discovered the roots of a dying vine covered in microscopic yellow insects. The tiny aphid would be named Phylloxera vastatrix -- 'the dry leaf devastator'. Where it had come from was utterly mysterious, but it advanced with the speed of an invading army. As the noblest vineyards of France came under biological siege, the world's greatest wine industry tottered on the brink of ruin. The grand owners fought the aphid with expensive insecticide, while peasant vignerons simply abandoned their ruined plots in despair. Within a few years the plague had spread across Europe, from Portugal to the Crimea. the parasite had accidentally been imported from America. He believed that only the introduction of American vines, which appeared to have developed a resistance to the aphid, could save France's vineyards. His opponents maintained that this would merely assist the spread of the disease. Meanwhile, encouraged by the French government's offer of a prize of 300,000 gold francs for a remedy, increasingly bizarre suggestions flooded in, and many wine-growing regions came close to revolution as whole local economies were obliterated. Eventually Planchon and his supporters won the day, and phylloxera-resistant American vines were grafted onto European root-stock. Despite some setbacks -- the first fruits of transplanted American vines were universally pronounced undrinkable -- by 1914 all vines cultivated in France were hybrid Americans. of one of the earliest and most successful applications of science to an ecological disaster.

Dying on the Vine

Dying on the Vine PDF Author: George D. Gale
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520948858
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
Dying on the Vine chronicles 150 years of scientific warfare against the grapevine’s worst enemy: phylloxera. In a book that is highly relevant for the wine industry today, George Gale describes the biological and economic disaster that unfolded when a tiny, root-sucking insect invaded the south of France in the 1860s, spread throughout Europe, and journeyed across oceans to Africa, South America, Australia, and California—laying waste to vineyards wherever it landed. He tells how scientists, viticulturalists, researchers, and others came together to save the world’s vineyards and, with years of observation and research, developed a strategy of resistance. Among other topics, the book discusses phylloxera as an important case study of how one invasive species can colonize new habitats and examines California’s past and present problems with it.

The Grape Phylloxera in California

The Grape Phylloxera in California PDF Author: William Mark Davidson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Grapes
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Wine Talk

Wine Talk PDF Author: Frank J. Prial
Publisher: Times Books(NY)
ISBN:
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description


The Botanist and the Vintner

The Botanist and the Vintner PDF Author: Christopher Campbell
Publisher: Algonquin Books
ISBN: 9781565125285
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
In the mid-1860s, grapevines in southeastern France inexplicably began to wither and die. Jules-ƒmile Planchon, a botanist from Montpellier, was sent to investigate. He discovered that the vine roots were covered in microscopic yellow insects. What they were and where they had come from was a mystery. The infestation advanced with the relentlessness of an invading army and within a few years had spread across Europe, from Portugal to the Crimea. The wine industry was on the brink of disaster. The French government offered a prize of three hundred thousand gold francs for a remedy. Planchon believed he had the answer and set out to prove it. Gripping and intoxicating, The Botanist and the Vintner brings to life one of the most significant, though little-known, events in the history of wine.

The Great Wine Blight

The Great Wine Blight PDF Author: George Ordish
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description


General Viticulture

General Viticulture PDF Author: Albert Julius Winkler
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN:
Category : Viticulture
Languages : en
Pages : 664

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Book Description
The text is designed to enable those concerned with either vine or fruite problems to arrive at considered diagnoses. Tje student will find the text and cited references a comprehensive source of information.

Sonoma Wine and the Story of Buena Vista

Sonoma Wine and the Story of Buena Vista PDF Author: Charles L. Sullivan
Publisher: Board and Bench Publishing
ISBN: 1935879847
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
The beginning of history for California wine starts with 17th-century , but the industry and commercial powerhouse that commands 60 percent of the United States market was birthed 200 years later, the product of a Hungarian aristocrat, European grapes, and the Sonoma Valley. In this groundbreaking book by historian and bestselling author Charles L. Sullivan, the untold history of Sonoma wine serves as backdrop to the turbulent story of California s first commercial winery, Buena Vista, from its founding by brilliant but quixotic Agoston Haraszthy, through phyloxera plague and the dry years of prohibition to its present-day market prominence. Sonoma Wine and the Story of Buena Vista is a scholarly study of two centuries of California wine history, told in a riveting narrative that will engage and delight.

A Companion to California Wine

A Companion to California Wine PDF Author: Charles L. Sullivan
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520920873
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
California is the nation's great vineyard, supplying grapes for most of the wine produced in the United States. The state is home to more than 700 wineries, and California's premier wines are recognized throughout the world. But until now there has been no comprehensive guide to California wine and winemaking. Charles L. Sullivan's A Companion to California Wine admirably fills that gap—here is the reference work for consumers, wine writers, producers, and scholars. Sullivan's encyclopedic handbook traces the Golden State's wine industry from its mission period and Gold Rush origins down to last year's planting and vintage statistics. All aspects of wine are included, and wine production from vine propagation to bottling is described in straightforward language. There are entries for some 750 wineries, both historical and contemporary; for more than 100 wine grape varieties, from Aleatico to Zinfandel; and for wine types from claret to vermouth—all given in a historical context. In the book's foreword the doyen of wine writers, Hugh Johnson, tells of his own forty-year appreciation of California wine and its history. "Charles Sullivan's Companion," he adds, "will provide the grist for debate, speculation, and reminiscence from now on. With admirable dispassion he sets before us just what has happened in the plot so far."

The Phylloxera Or Grapevine Louse, and the Remedies for Its Ravages

The Phylloxera Or Grapevine Louse, and the Remedies for Its Ravages PDF Author: Eugene Woldemar Hilgard
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Grapes
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description