A parasite that devours the vine's roots. After devastating Europe's vineyards over 100 years ago, vine growers opted for grafting the phylloxera sensitive European “vitis vinifera” variety onto the rootstock of the phylloxera resistant American vine

A vine disease caused by an aphid attacking the roots. Originally from America (where native vines were resistant) this disease has caused widespread global damage. The Hunter Valley remains free of phylloxera.

The small louse Phylloxera vastatrix came from the United States at the end of the 19th century and ruined the vineyards of Europe by eating their roots. It's still in residence, but it does not kill the American vine roots onto which European vines are now grafted. Discover wines which escaped Phylloxera.

A voracious, nearly microscopic vine louse that over time has destroyed vineyards in Europe and California.

A vine disease, also the name of the tiny louse that causes it. It wiped out nearly one hundred percent of Europe's vines in the 19th century. The wine trade only recovered when it was discovered that vines that had been grafted onto certain American rootstocks were resistant to the louse. Brandy, which had been the English gentleman's drink was suddenly unobtainable and whisky came to prominence. Scottish whisky barons deny any connivance with the pest, but are eternally grateful to it.

A tiny louse that damages the roots of vines. During the 1990s, many thousands of acres of grapevines were replaced in the Napa Valley, and throughout California, due to phylloxera.

A louse that attacks the roots of grape vines - it is the most dangerous enemy of grapevines!  Very lousy, if you ask me

a tiny louse that eats the roots of grapevines eventually causing them to die. It can have disastrous consequences.

Whereas Noble Rot can help grapes develop wonderful and distinctive flavors, phylloxera is a devastating insect which destroys grape crops. It is native to the eastern United States, and was accidentally introduced to Europe in 1860. American grape varieties are usually resistant to this pest.

(fil-LOX-er-rah) - Plant louse that can devastate vineyards; virtually wiped out the French wine industry during the 1860s and 1870s (after being accidentally exported on vines from the U.S.), and remains a problem today in Northern California, where many vineyards are now being replanted on louse-resistant roots.

A vine louse that affects the grapevine.

Phylloxera is a vine louse, which attacks grape vine with a devastating effect. It is a native of America's Eastern regions it destroyed most of Europe's vines during 1862 and the end of the nineteenth century, along with almost all of Victoria's vines.

Tiny root lice that attack vitis vinifera (type of grape wine is made of) roots, eventually killing the vine.

Parasitic vine louse. Can destroy a vineyard.

Root loose that destroys vineyards - The French wine industry was virtually wiped out in the 1860s by Pylloxera

Disease of grapevines where tiny lice attack and destroy the roots. Created havoc in the late 19th century in Europe and California when it practically destroyed all the grape crops. This disease also devastated India and most of the crops were destroyed.

A root louse that attacks the roots of Vitus Vinifera grapes causing the death of the vine over a period of several years.

An American vine root pest, present in most countries, which can cause complete vineyard loss. American rootstocks are used for their resistance in affected areas or as an insurance against possible outbreaks.

An aphid-like insect that attacks the roots and the leaves of plants in the genus Vitis (i.e. grapevines).

An aphid that kills a vine by attacking the root system. Indigenous to North America it decimated the European wine regions in the late 19th century. Australia's first outbreak was in1876 but has only ever affected certain regions. South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania remain unaffected to date. The pest can be effectively controlled by grafting Phylloxera-resistant European rootstock onto American vines.

a tiny louse that attacks the roots of Vitis vinifera vines and eventually kills them.

A vine disease caused by an aphid attacking the roots. Originally from America (where native vines were resistant) this disease has caused widespread global damage. New vineyards are being planted on American resistant rootstock grafted with 'vitis vinifera' grape varieties.

fatal vine pest which chews vine roots. The only remedy is to replant on phylloxera-resistant rootstocks.

The name of a root louse which attacks grapevines and which spread from America to Europe in the 1800's destroying the vineyards of France and elsewhere. The vineyards were then replanted by grafting the vines onto American rootstock which was more resistant to the disease a practice which continues today.

insect-borne disease of the vine, countered by grafting French grape varieties onto phylloxera-resistant American rootstocks.

An aphid pest that feeds on the roots of grapevines, eventually killings them. Vineyards that are infected with phylloxera must be re-planted with phylloxera resistant rootstock, there being no know way of eradicating or mitigating an infected area. In the mid-ninteenth century, phylloxera devastated European vineyards, where there was no natural resistance. European viticulture was saved by grafting vines onto native American rootsocks.

A tiny, aphid-like pest that feeds on the roots of wine grapes, slowly killing them. The feeding scars the roots, badly impairing their ability to absorb water and nutrients and also exposing them to bacteria and fungus. Native American grape varieties are highly resistant, but wine varieties ( Vitis vinifera) are not. The only solution is to remove the declining vines and replace them with vines that have been grafted onto resistant American rootstock. There are very few wine producing regions in the world where phylloxera doesn't exist, so most wine grapes worldwide are grafted rather than grown on their own roots.

Tiny aphids or root lice that attack Vitis vinifera roots. The disease was widespread in both Europe and California during the late 19th century, and returned to California in the 1980s.

The louse that eats vine roots. Devastated Europe in the late nineteenth century until it was discovered that American rootstock was resistant. Since then, most European vines are grafted onto American rootstock. Ironically, the Californian industry was badly damaged by Phylloxera in the 1980's and 90's after planting on low-resistance rootstock.

A tiny louse that attacks the root system of wine grape vines, responsible for killing over three million acres of vines in Europe in the 1800s. Grafting to resistant rootstock is the only known way to combat this pest.

(fil-lox-uh-rah) insect that destroyed most of the world's vineyards in the 19th century

A microscopic underground insect that kills grape vines by attacking their roots.

An insect that attacks the roots of grapevines, killing the vine. Phylloxera is native to the eastern United States. It was transported to Europe on vine roots and plants and caused vine devastation in France around 1863. Usually a vine will die within several years of the attack.

A vine louse which devastated the vineyards of Europe in the late 18th Century. The cause of the disease was initially uncertain, but eventually the Phylloxera vastatrix louse was identified on the roots of the affected vines. It was imported from North America, where the indigenous American Vitis labrusca vines are resistant to the effects of the louse. The solution: graft the European Vitis vinifera vines onto American rootstock. Now, save for a tiny proportion of vineyards, all vines are grafted onto such rootstock before planting. This caused many difficulties - no longer could cash-strapped vignerons propagate vines by pushing a runner into the soil - they had to purchase more expensive grafted vines from the nursery. Some vignerons today continue to plant ungrafted material, because of heritage (such as the vines for Bollinger's Vieilles Vignes Française Champagne), expense, because of a belief that ungrafted vines make better wine, or because they have suitable soils - Phylloxera dislikes sandy soils.

A microscopic insect that attacks the roots of a grapevine, prevents it from taking in water and nutrients, and eventually kills the vine. The only known remedy is to graft vitis vinifera vines onto American rootstock which have a greater tolerance to phylloxera.

A microscopic vine louse that attacks the roots of a vine, decreasing yields and in most cases eventually destroying the vineyard. Can be prevented by grafting vines onto resistant rootstocks. Some areas of Victoria are Phylloxera zones (Nagambie, King Valley, Glenrowan, Milawa, Rutherglen and Corowa areas). and cellar door visitors should be aware of restrictions on travelling within by observing vineyard signs. Do not remove any part of a grapevine (leaves, fruit, canes, roots, etc.) from quarantine areas. Road signs mark the boundaries of the quarantine areas.

The name of a root louse which attacks and devastates grapevines. It spread from America to Europe in the 1860's and destroyed the vineyards of France, then spread elsewhere. Most of the world's vineyards are now planted on American rootstock (which is more resistant to Phylloxera). However, in the last 20 years it has become rampant in the Napa Valley and caused major replanting.

Vine disease due to a small green-fly. At the end of the 19th century, coming from America, the Phylloxera destroyed the 3/4 of the French vineyard. Grafting saved French vines.

A root-feeding aphid that has probably had a more damaging impact on wine production than any other vine pest or disease. It attacks only grape vines and kills by attacking the roots.

No other vine pest has wreaked so much havoc in the vineyards of the world as this microscopic root feeding aphid. Its original name was Phylloxera Vastatrix, or the devastator. Native to the East Coast of America, this louse spread to the vineyards of France in the 19th century, almost shutting down the industry. Since the native American rootstocks had developed a natural resistance, they were then brought into France. The French varieties were grafted onto this resistant rootstock and the industry came back to life. The louse struck California equally as hard in the 1980's, where most vineyards were planted on non-resistant AXR1. A second biotype came along and costly replanting has been a way of life ever since. The upside is that the California wine industry has is now able to match varieties to sites that better suit them.

A tiny louse that attacks the root system of wine grape vines, responsible for killing over three million acres of vines in Europe in the 1800s. It arrived in South Africa at the turn of the century. Grafting to resistant rootstock is the only known way t

A insect (specifcally a plant louse) that attacks the roots of vines. Phylloxera caused widespread damage in the wine producing countries of Europe and also in California during the latter half of the 19th century.

Grape Phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, family Phylloxeridae, superfamily Aphidoidea) is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. These tiny, pale yellow sap-sucking insects, related to aphids, feed on the roots of grape vines. In Vitis vinifera, the resulting deformations ("nodosities" and "tuberosities") and secondary fungal infections can girdle roots, gradually cutting off the flow of nutrients and water to the vine.