The Great French Wine Blight: Phylloxera and Recovery

In the 1860s, a tiny aphid from America nearly destroyed France's entire wine industry, threatening centuries of viticultural tradition. This episode explores the phylloxera crisis that ravaged vineyards from Bordeaux to Burgundy, the desperate search for a cure, and the ingenious solution that saved French wine. We meet the scientists—Jules-Émile Planchon, Charles Valentine Riley—who identified the pest, and the vintners who eventually grafted European vines onto American rootstocks, transforming viticulture forever. The crisis also sparked mass emigration from wine regions, fueled the rise of Champagne as a global brand, and led to the creation of France's strict appellation system. Listen as Lucas and Luna uncork the story of how France's national drink was nearly lost, and how its recovery reshaped the country's identity. #Phylloxera #FrenchWine #Viticulture #JulesEmilePlanchon #CharlesValentineRiley #Bordeaux #Burgundy #Champagne #Grafting #AmericanRootstock #AppellationOrigineControlee #WineHistory #France #19thCentury #Agriculture #EconomicHistory #History #FexingoHistory #FrenchRevolution #NapoleonBonaparte Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo