Great Wine Blight

1850-1870’s: The Great French Wine Blight was a severe blight that destroyed many of the vineyards in France and laid waste the wine industry. It was caused by an aphid that originated in North America and was carried across the Atlantic in the late 1850s.

The wine & vine gained in popularity and samples of vines were always being brought back to Europe.  Originally the trip across the Atlantic took 6 weeks, then steam vessels began to be the more common means to travel the Atlantic in the late 1850’s and it was shortened to 6 days.   Imagine how complicated it was to get a sample of a growing plant, transport it across the US and then on a ship to Europe.  Now that trip was significantly shortened. 

France was worst affected, the blight also did a great deal of damage to vineyards in other European countries. American vines had been taken to Europe many times before, for reasons including experimentation and trials in grafting, without consideration of the possibility of the introduction of pestilence. 

Eventually two French wine growers, proposed that the European vines be grafted to the resistant American rootstock that were not susceptible to the Phylloxera (full-ox-er-a). While many of the French wine growers disliked this idea, many found themselves with no other option. The method proved to be an effective remedy. The “Reconstitution” of the many vineyards that had been lost was a slow process, but eventually, the wine industry in France was able to return to relative normality.

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While most of Northern California’s vineyards were destroyed by phylloxera in the late 1800’s, Zinfandel vines were among the first vines replanted on rootstock starting around 1885.

1920 - 33 was prohibition. Prohibition did its damage to US wineries as well. Before 1920, there were more than 2,500 commercial wineries in the United States. Less than 100 survived as winemaking operations to 1933. By 1960, that number had grown to only 271. After prohibition ended and the Great depression did damage, timber and wire were scarce and zin could be planted without - so it started to flourish.