The Botanist and the Vintner: How Wine was Saved for the World.

THE BOTANIST AND THE VINTNER: How Wine was Saved for the World CHRISTY CAMPBELL

In the mid-1860s, tales of "a new vine disease in the south of France" began to spread. Before long, the unidentified pestilence shook the French winemaking industry. Botanists looked with puzzlement at the withered brown leaves and the roots infested with tiny orange insects. All the typical insecticides of the day, including sulfur and cayenne pepper, failed, and the infection, phylloxera, quickly spread throughout Europe. Botanists and vintners were left wondering where the insects came from and how they spread. The scientists noted that vines imported from the Americas didn't succumb to the insect, leading a few botanists and vintners to recall the recent writings of Charles Darwin on adaptation. The insect, a type of aphid, originated in the Americas. British journalist Campbell reveals the intriguing story behind the identification and eventual eradication of phylloxera and how French botanist Jules Planchon of Montpellier and U.S. entomologist Charles Riley saved the French wine industry from ruin. Algonquin, 2005, 360 p., hardcover, $24.95.