California Wine Industry Threatened by Vine Disease; Small Insect Poses Danger
to Napa Valley Warns the October 15th Issue of Wine Spectator
Business Editors/Food and Beverage Writers
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 13, 2000--California's thriving
premium wine industry may be in danger. A recently arrived small
insect known as the glassy-winged sharpshooter is spreading a deadly
vine blight called Pierce's disease, which is rapidly moving toward
Napa Valley, the heart of California's fine wine industry. A
comprehensive report in the upcoming October 15th issue of Wine
Spectator magazine concludes that the insect "could potentially cause
billions of dollars in damage and wipe whole grapegrowing districts
off the map." There is currently no known cure to this fatal vine
disease.
Pierce's disease has been lurking in California's vineyards for
more than a century, spread by another insect called the blue-green
sharpshooter. Over the years, the disease remained a minor problem
because the blue-green sharpshooter is a relatively feeble bug. The
glassy-winged sharpshooter which first made its appearance in southern
California about 10 years ago, is bigger, stronger and more voracious
than its blue-green relative causing the spread of Pierce's disease to
suddenly accelerate, with no end in sight.
The insect has already infested 11 California counties, including
Sacramento, just 70 miles east of Napa Valley. In late July, a single
glassy-winged sharpshooter was trapped in the small town of
Middletown...less than a dozen miles from the vineyards of Napa and
Sonoma.
Robert Dowell, the chief entomologist for the California
Department of Food and Agriculture, told Wine Spectator that "we're
feeling like we're sitting on a time bomb...the problem is no one
knows where the bomb is, and nobody knows how fast it is ticking, and
nobody knows how much time is left." Wine Spectator cautions that if
the dire predictions about the spread of the disease come true, the
Golden State's wine industry may face setbacks for many years to come.
--30--ac/ch*
CONTACT: M. Shanken Communications, Inc., New York
Niki Singer or Terrence Meck, 212/684-4224
Fax: 212/481-0719
KEYWORD: NEW YORK CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: FOODS/BEVERAGES
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