Page 184 - A Life - my Live - my path

My wine tours

the small phylloxera insect, which attacked the roots of the
vine stock, could not be defeated and almost destroyed the
entire European vineyard.
American vines, which were resistant to phylloxera, were
imported into the United States 150 . The vines had become
vigorous again, but the wine produced was of mediocre
quality. The solution came in grafting the European stock
onto the American vine. Since then, all European vineyards
are one American vine and one European vine.
We wanted to know how each winegrower managed his
vineyard and what types of products he used. We knew
about the famous fungicide known as "Bordeaux porridge

151 ". Over the years, we've known that more and more
winegrowers were turning to organic methods. We have

known the era of " Bordeaux porridge " treatments, then a
few winegrowers switched to "sustainable culture", and
others became 100% organic.
Around 2010, many estates were bought up by groups
headquartered in Paris or other major cities around the
world.
Visitor authorizations no longer came from the châteaux,
which significantly reduced the possibility of continuing to
organize such prestigious tours. What's more, we were now
welcomed and guided by representatives of the sales or
marketing departments instead of by the vineyard masters,
cellar masters and oenologists.

150 History tells us that the vines were exported to the United States of America.
151 It is made from water, copper sulfate and lime, giving it a greenish-blue color.
It prevents mildew. It is sprayed on vine leaves.
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