The Great French Wine Blight and the Birth of Modern Viticulture

In the mid-19th century, France's vineyards were ravaged by a tiny American aphid, phylloxera vastatrix. Within decades, nearly all of France's wine regions—Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Languedoc—were devastated. This episode traces the race to save French wine: from pioneering botanist Jules-Émile Planchon, who identified the pest, to American entomologist Charles Valentine Riley, who proposed grafting French vines onto resistant American rootstocks. We explore the resistance from traditionalists, the economic collapse of wine-growing communities, and the scientific triumph that rebuilt France's vineyards. The phylloxera crisis inadvertently led to better vine management, the appellation d'origine contrôlée system, and the global spread of grafting. A story of disaster, ingenuity, and the resilience of French viticulture. #Phylloxera #FrenchWine #JulesEmilePlanchon #CharlesValentineRiley #Bordeaux #Burgundy #Champagne #Viticulture #Grafting #AppellationOrigineControlee #19thCentury #WineHistory #ScientificDiscovery #Agriculture #France #History #FexingoHistory #WineCrisis Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo