Listen, my friends, to the tale of Phylloxera,
Loathed by gourmands, just as one might a pox, or a
Plague on grape vines and their life-giving roots,
The louse traveled from vineyard to vineyard on boots,
And laid waste to the world’s most valuable juice.

Indigenous bugs from the US of A,
They took steamboats to England - the Victorian way -
Invaded the mainland, to France and beyond,
The pale yellow, sap-sucking insects have gone
And destroyed the old vines, sparing nary a one. 

You have little hope, my dear plant, that is if you’re the
Specific sort we call Vitis Vinifera, 
Lest you’re planted in schist, or on slate or pure sand,
You’ll fall prey to the louse that has ravaged the land,
And you’ll bear no more fruit for the bottle again.

Beneath each prized vine, some did bury a toad,
For to suck the disease from its hidden abode,
But it wasn’t ‘til scientists Planchon and Riley
Revealed the American louse was behind the
Destruction and found a solution so wily.

They grafted their scions to roots from the States,
And made them resistant, but it was too late
To save most of the vineyards, so they’ve been re-sown,
With feet from America, but arms of their own,
These Frankenstein plants are the norm now in Beaune.

Come join on this Saturday from 2-5pm at OAKLAND YARD, when another scientist will save the day (or at least make it a lot more fun). Local winemaker and microbiologist, Kristie Tacey, will be pouring her 2016 Russian River Viognier (Catie's Corner Vineyard) and her 2015 El Dorado Grenache as OAKLAND YARD welcomes TESSIER WINERY to 420 40th St.

All over the world, the damned louse did the nasty,
Who started this mess? Some blame Count Haraszthy.