There's a pest that threatened the integrity of the European vine in the 19th century. It's a parasite that arrived from the United States, and its name gave birth to the same disease it causes. In this article, we want to share with you what you didn't know about the Phylloxera.
They are divided into two types: those that live on the leaves (gallicola) and those that survive by sucking the sap from the roots (radicicola). They reproduce without the need for mating, making their reproduction very easy. The Phylloxera can destroy the vine in less than three years, but the damage is visible from the first year, creating tumors in its roots or simply allowing them to become infected. Those living on the leaves don't cause lethal damage, but they do take away the color from the leaves. This crisis, which lasted for more than thirty years, was fought with rootstocks, and that's why nowadays most wineries around the world use rootstocks.
What is a rootstock?
It was observed that the roots of vines native to America were resistant to the insect, so they were used as a base onto which European varieties were grafted. In other words, by grafting an American vine onto the European vine, it becomes resistant to Phylloxera.
When don't you need a rootstock?
Some countries like Argentina, Chile, Spain (mainly the Canary Islands), and wineries with sandy soils like in northern Mexico (Ensenada) and in the southern United States (New Mexico and California). This is because it was discovered that vineyards planted in sandy soils were resistant to the insect as they prevent the construction of the tunnels through which they reach the roots.
If you're struggling with a situation like this, we recommend:
Painting the trunk with a mixture of different substances (lime, naphthalene, coal oil, and water) to try to kill the winter egg, but usually, that's not enough.
A treatment can be done with carbon disulfide (a gas injected into the soil) or potassium sulfocarbonate (liquid with which the trunk is painted), and although it's more effective, it's very expensive.
There's another technique that involves drowning the insect by flooding the vineyard. It's called the bath treatment.
The only European grape variety natively resistant to Phylloxera is Greek. It's called Assyrtiko and grows on the island of Santorini. Some attribute its immunity to the volcanic ashes where it grows, but it's still speculative.
At Dos Cuerpos, we are dedicated to tastings and the distribution of agave distillates and Mexican wine. Tasting is the reflection of the alcohol to be sampled, and in that sense, these texts aim to make reflection a constant. Let us know if you liked this text, if it helped you in any way, and in case there's any discrepancy, please let us know.
Comments