Phylloxera: ‘the pandemic’ that wiped out almost all European vineyards

What is phylloxera and what happened?

We live in pandemic times where words like ‘epidemic’ or ‘incidence of contagion’ have become part of our daily vocabulary. But what if we tell you that about one hundred and fifty years ago, an epidemic in the vine almost wiped out the entire European vineyard?

Surely you have heard about ‘phylloxera’, but unlike COVID-19, which is caused by a virus, in this case the disease was caused by a small insect of the species ‘Viteus vitifoliae’, which feeds on the leaves and roots of the vine, producing ‘wounds’ through which microorganisms gain access that produce the disease and cause the death of the plant. Although it should be noted that this insect does not affect vines of European origin in the same way as those of American origin, because the roots of the latter have a natural genetic resistance to phylloxera and subsequent microbiological attacks, due to its smoother structure, with practically no knots and its harder and more resistant wood to the ‘bites’ of this ‘little bug’.

The insect in question arrived in Europe from the USA in 1863 in a shipment of vines brought to combat a plague of ‘powdery mildew’ and since its entry, it has been spreading and wiping out the vast majority of European vineyards that were not resistant to phylloxera.

How was it solved?

After trying different chemical alternatives and attempting to establish several sanitary cordons without success, in Spain it was decided to follow the example of other countries and graft the vine. For this purpose, roots or ‘feet’ of American origin, naturally resistant to the pest, were used, grafting the aerial parts of the vines existing in Europe up to that moment. You are probably wondering why whole plants from America were not used directly. The answer is easy. The type of vine from which the rootstock was obtained, corresponded to the species ‘Vitis Labrusca’, and its fruit does not allow vinification, while the aerial part corresponded to the European vine, of the species ‘Vitis Vinifera’, ideal for making wine.

From this arises the differentiation between ‘American rootstock’ and ‘ungrafted rootstock’, which you will surely have heard on many occasions. The former refers to those vines that had to be grafted to save the vineyard, while the ‘ungrafted rootstock’

Were any vineyards saved?

In Spain, phylloxera wiped out a large part of the vineyard, leaving no other option than to graft American roots in about three quarters of the Spanish wine-growing area.

But what happened to that quarter that resisted the insect’s attack?

Several Spanish regions, including Jumilla, managed to resist the attack of the insect and although they suffered its effects, these did not produce practically no consequences due to several factors being mainly, in our case, the low rainfall (Jumilla is one of the driest regions of Spain, with 20 days a year of rain on average), the extreme climate and the type of soil, mainly sandy, which does not facilitate the survival of phylloxera.

And you, did you know the history of phylloxera?