Roots: The Dinner Continues

Consumers of fine wines tired of living in a Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon world may soon see more choices. Not because anybody planned it, but because of a nasty little bug that chews the roots of grapevines.

Known as phylloxera, this insect pest threatens to destroy millions of grapevines in California. With the expense of tearing out and replanting vineyards now unavoidable, growers are asking themselves whether Chardonnay and Cabernet are all they should make. And even those who go on making those two varieties may end up producing dramatically better wine than they do today.

The bad news is the money it takes to survive the plague. It costs between $10,000 and $20,000 to recapitalize an acre of vineyard into the fourth year; the grower gets no revenue for three years after replanting a vine. Some economists estimate that the current phylloxera plague will cost the industry $3 billion statewide.

For that reason, Rep. Frank Riggs (R-Santa Rosa) has introduced legislation into the House of Representatives that would give a tax break for vineyards replanted as a result of the phylloxera infestation.

Phylloxera is the root louse that devastated the vineyards of Europe and California about 110 years ago. Then growers discovered that the roots of grape species native to the United States and Canada were resistant to the tiny bug. Once they planted those roots and grafted wine grape varieties on top, everybody thought phylloxera was neutralized.

It wasn’t. A decade ago, it was discovered that a genetic cousin of the original phylloxera louse, Biotype B, was happily chomping away at other roots thought to be immune, including the rootstock variety AXR1 developed in the last 30 years. AXRI became popular because wine grape varieties grafted onto it produced a much larger crop--as much as 17% more than on standard root stocks.

The early infestations were small, but it soon was apparent that the Biotype B phylloxera multiplied four times faster than the old bug. One acre infected with Biotype B could lead to 64 infested acres in four years.

Today’s visitor to the Napa Valley sees many bare vineyards. Vines have been torn out and the fields replanted with rootstock plants that are covered by milk or juice cartons to protect them from foraging rodents.

In the last four years, as phylloxera has spread, so have stories of its devastation. Everybody sees the crushing expense, but it turns out a few people with vision are now saying that phylloxera is a cloud with a silver lining.

That’s how it was described by Rich Nagaoka, an independent viticultural consultant from the Napa Valley and one of the few willing to point to the benefits phylloxera offers the industry.

“There’s a grieving process,” said Nagaoka, “but at the end of grieving is the process of acceptance and looking at the options. There are more choices today than we’ve ever had.

“The best thing is the ability to make critical decisions about the varieties we have planted. Cabernet and Chardonnay have been dominant. Now we can ask: ‘What are these soils right for? Should we plant some of the Rhone varieties, such as Viognier, Syrah or Mourvedre, or some of the Italian varieties, like Sangiovese?’

“This gives us an opportunity for greater diversity than we’ve had, which is good for the consumer.” He said great Syrah is ultimately better for the consumer than mediocre Cabernet.

A few months ago, Allan Hemphill of Gauer Estate Vineyards in Sonoma County gave a speech at a wine symposium called “Phylloxera: Disaster or Catalyst for Change?” His remarks reflect the current situation.

“After a period of disbelief and near panic, we now need to step back and look at (the problem) in perspective,” said Hemphill. “And the remedies are clear. We were already in a period of redesigning our vineyards, and this has put us in a position where we have to do things before we’d have done them in the natural course of time.”

Hemphill said the vines on two thirds of California’s 300,000 acres of vineyard are over 20 years old by now and would soon have to be taken out anyway, whether there was a vine louse plague or not. “Moreover, it isn’t just a phylloxera problem,” he said. “We have eutypha (a fungus), viruses, vines on poorly drained soils and varietal decisions that were inappropriate.” In the last decade, he said, many growers made planting decisions that were a blind reaction to short-term market trends.

“Some of that needs fixing under any circumstance. We’re faced with a question of timing. The event (replanting) would have occurred anyway.” He admitted that replanting is costly, but it couldn’t have come at a better time, with California awash in a huge amount of wine from excellent vintages and sales declining.

Phylloxera already has had an impact in variety decision-making, said Rich Kunde, owner of Sonoma Grapevines, one of the world’s largest wine-grape and rootstock nurseries.

“Last year the Rhone varieties represented 5% of my sales and that may be 10% this year,” Kunde said. “And the Italian varieties represented only 1% in 1991 and they may be as much as 5% this year.” In past years, Kunde said, the demand for Rhone and Italian varieties was negligible.

This tendency is likely to grow as the phylloxera plague affects more and more vineyards. Kunde pointed out that the impact of the Napa Valley’s phylloxera problem is starting to affect sales at his Sonoma nursery. “This is really the first year I am getting an impact from Napa. Rootstock sales from Napa now amount to about 15% of our business. All of a sudden it’s substantial.”

Wine of the Week

1991 Elliston Triomphe ($10)-- The small Elliston Vineyards in Sunol, Calif., has one of the few Pinot Gris plantings in the state. Although it’s only 20% of the blend in its Triomphe, the spiciness of the Pinot Gris variety comes through in this fresh and appealing white wine. Winemaker Dan Gehrs uses other unusual varieties: His line includes a Muscadet and an attractive red wine called Masquerade ($10) that is made like a Chinon.