The Botanist and the Vintner
In the mid-1860s, grapevines in southeastern France inexplicably began to wither and die. Jules-Émile Planchon, a botanist from Montpellier, was sent out to investigate. He discovered that the vine roots were covered in microscopic yellow insects. What they were—and where they had come from—was a mystery. The infestation advanced with the relentlessness of an invading army. Within a few years the plague had spread across Europe; even California's old-world vines succumbed to the aphid's...
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In the mid-1860s, grapevines in southeastern France inexplicably began to wither and die. Jules-Émile Planchon, a botanist from Montpellier, was sent to investigate. He discovered that the vine roots were covered in microscopic yellow insects. What they were and where they had come from was a mystery. The infestation advanced with the relentlessness of an invading army and within a few years had spread across Europe, from Portugal to the Crimea. The wine industry was on the brink of disaster. The French government offered a prize of three hundred thousand gold francs for a remedy. Planchon believed he had the answer and set out to prove it.Gripping and intoxicating, The Botanist and the Vintner brings to life one of the most significant, though little-known, events in the history of wine. San Antonio Express-News “An engrossing read. And certainly it is information every wine lover should know, making it perhaps the wine book of the year to absorb and consider.”
\ Entertainment Weekly“Ecology, politics, and free-market economics collide in this brisk and surprisingly modern tale of scientific sleuthing.”\ \ \ \ \ Los Angeles Times“A true-life detective story ripe for the writing.”\ \ \ San Antonio Express-News“An engrossing read. And certainly it is information every wine lover should know, making it perhaps the wine book of the year to absorb and consider.”\ \ \ \ \ The New York Times“A taut, suspense-filled account.”\ \ \ \ \ Wine Spectator“A must-read.”\ \
