Dying on the vine : how phylloxera transformed wine / George Gale.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gale, George, 1943-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Grapes--Diseases and pests--History--19th century.

Grapes.

Grapes--Diseases and pests--History--20th century.

Phylloxera.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (335 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Dying on the Vine chronicles 150 years of scientific warfare against the grapevine's worst enemy: phylloxera. In a book that is highly relevant for the wine industry today, George Gale describes the biological and economic disaster that unfolded when a tiny, root-sucking insect invaded the south of France in the 1860's, spread throughout Europe, and journeyed across oceans to Africa, South America, Australia, and California-laying waste to vineyards wherever it landed. He tells how scientists, viticulturalists, researchers, and others came together to save the world's vineyards and, with years of observation and research, developed a strategy of resistance. Among other topics, the book discusses phylloxera as an important case study of how one invasive species can colonize new habitats and examines California's past and present problems with it.

Contents:

All your vines are fatally condemned to disappear, monsieur

La defense: sand, submersion, and sulfiding

La reconstitution

The underground battle: grafting on American rootstock

Phylloxera makes the European grand tour

The bug goes south: new venues, same story

The old Americans, or how the fox conquered Europe

Phylloxera breaks out (twice) in California.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613277947

9781283277945

1283277948

9780520948853

0520948858

OCLC:

730151730