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August 2018 WINES&VINES 79 WINE EAST GRAPEGROWING put the French wine industry back on its feet but also resulted in a long-lingering taint to the reputa- tion of wines made from interspe- cific hybrids. Simply put, hybrids didn't get much respect. The other solution — grafting vinifera scions to phylloxera-resis- tant American Vitis rootstocks — won out. As the use of rootstocks took hold, France progressively increased regulations to discour- age use and replanting of the French-American hybrids, effec- tively prohibiting replanting by the early 1970s. By 2010, the area planted to French-American hy- brids had declined to 6,000 hect- ares, a minuscule 0.8% of the 785,000 hectares in France. Many French-American hy- brids made their way back across the Atlantic to North America, starting in the 1940s, and were widely planted in Eastern produc- tion areas by the 1970s. They pro- vided Eastern producers with an alternative to traditional labrusca- based wines. Not only were they resistant to phylloxera, but some also offered enough cold-hardi- ness to survive the cold winters, some measure of disease resis- tance, and flavor profiles that were different from those of labr- usca wines. But their second-class status has persisted. Better fungicides and improved cultural practices have allowed Eastern growers to plant and vinify V. vinifera variet- ies successfully. Since the 1980s, production of classic vinifera wine cultivars in Eastern North America has blossomed, and their produc- tion has raised the profile of wine regions from New York to Virginia, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario. On- tario's Vintner's Quality Alliance (VQA) program has mirrored France's approach by prohibiting the use of French-American hy- brids in VQA wines. With the ex- ception of Baco Noir, Chambourcin, Chancellor, Couderc Muscat, Maréchal Foch, Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc and Villard Noir, all other hybrids are excluded from VQA labeling. Meanwhile, despite industry and regulatory resistance to hy- brids, breeding programs in Eu- rope and the United States have persisted, and their long-term ef- forts are finally bearing fruit. Va- rieties incorporating multiple disease-resistance genes are gain- ing traction. Europe is starting to embrace hybrids. Changing attitudes in the European Union Environmental, health and cost concerns are leading producers to reconsider hybrids. First and fore- most is concern over the need for intensive use of fungicides to con- trol diseases. A 2003 report of the European Union commission esti- mated that "viticulture uses 40% of the crop protection products in the whole of agriculture." The French government's "EcoPhyto" plan, launched in 2008, set a goal KEY POINTS The introduction of phylloxera into Europe resulted in two solutions: the breeding of "French-American hybrid" grapes to provide resistance and the grafting of vinifera scions onto phylloxera-resistant American rootstocks. When the wine quality of the French-American hybrids proved to be disap- pointing, grafting became the preferred solution. Beginning in the early 1940s, growers east of the Rockies began to plant the French-American hybrids because those vines were more cold hardy, had some disease resistance, and provided flavor profiles that were differ- ent from wines made from native Labrusca grapes. American and European breeding programs have now succeeded in incor- porating greater disease resistance into crosses that can also make wine of quality similar to that of the vinifera varieties. Europe is now beginning to recognize that the new hybrids, because of their disease resistance, require fewer sprays, which has environmental, health and cost implications. 905.563.8261 | 1.800.263.1287 | info@provideag.ca | www.provideag.ca Beamsville, ON, Canada Backed with over 100 years of experience, we work with our customers to create custom solutions to get the job done right. We now offer a line of vineyard equipment including Pre-trimmers, Hedgers, Leaf Removers and Spreaders. Contact us for more information.