02 December 2008 10:30
French Phylloxera Epidemic: Largest Disaster in the History of Wine
by sbrothier
A mysterious blight struck the majority of French grape vines between the late 1850s and the turn of the century, causing enormous damage to the French economy. In the vine districts, wages dropped by half, businesses collapsed, and much of viticulture population emigrated to Algeria and other countries. (1) Vintners used 36,633 tons of sugar to improve the quality and quantity of wine produced in 1888, and imported larger quantities of foreign wines to meet the demand for mixing. The imports were, from Spain, 7,008,000 hectoliters; Italy, 1,082,305 hectoliters; and Algeria, 1,089,000 hectoliters. (2) One hectoliter equals to 100 liters or 26,418 U.S. gallons.
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