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Rank in world wine production held by Romania, according to the OIV. While Romanian wine remains relatively unknown in the West, the country (which lies in southeastern Europe) is steadily moving into stronger focus. Last year, production of Romanian wine soared 16%—one of the largest increase in the world. (During the same period, production of French wine dropped 19% thanks to multiple climate catastrophes.) Anyone for a glass of Fetească Albă?

What is Pierce’s Disease?

A. A fungus that attacks any green part of the plant and damages the vine's shoots

B. A bacterial disease which is spread by an insect called a sharpshooter

C. A wilting of the vine caused by grape moths who feast on the leaves

D. A black rot which spreads after poorly handled vineyard equipment pierces the vine trunk

Pierce’s Disease, one of the most feared vine diseases, originated in the Americas and was initially called “Anaheim Disease” because it was first recognized in the southern California town of Anaheim in 1892. The sharpshooter is a leaf-hopping insect which transmits the disease while sucking out the fluid from a vine. Making sharpshooters particularly threatening are their ability to fly up to a quarter of a mile, survive cold winter temperatures, quickly build immunity to pesticides, and their tendency to appear in great numbers when they arrive.

“On one particular occasion, André [Tchelistcheff] and I were visiting Sancerre [in France’s Loire Valley], specifically Didier Dagueneau. But before we arrived at the winery, André told us to stop by the road. He got out and walked over to the vineyard, bent down, grabbed a handful of dirt in his hands, rubbed it and then told me to do the same. Then he said, ‘Smell it because that is what you will smell in the wine.’ And he was right. When we tasted Didier’s ‘Silex,’ I was overwhelmed by the aroma and unique mineral character in the wine.”

—Rob Davis, winemaker at Jordan Winery in Alexander Valley, California, talking about his mentor, the late André Tchelistcheff, who is considered the father of California winemaking

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