In my recent post The Next Cult Wine? I shared an article about the efforts of UC Davis researchers to breed a variety of wine grape resistant to Pierce’s disease. The disease currently costs the industry millions of dollars per year and it is spreading, so it should be no surprise that multiple research projects are underway to combat it.
Today, the Wine Spectator published an article, Scientists Gain New Understanding of Vine-Killing Pierce’s Disease by Lynn Alley, giving the results of another UC Davis project. This group has ascertained how Pierce’s Disease actually kills grape vines, a breakthrough that may offer hope for protecting existing grape species from this deadly disease. Maybe we’ll get to keep our old cults wines and try some new.