The Wine World’s Battle Over Ungrafted, Heritage Grapevines

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In the 1860s, after the Old World had deepened its grip on the New, an emissary traveled back from America to Europe to wreak some havoc of its own. This avenging army was not made up of men. The aphid-like insect phylloxera, native to Mississippi Valley, made its way across the ocean, spread across France and into the rest of the continent. The pest fed on the roots of grapevines, and through the end of the century it killed an estimated two-thirds of Europe’s vineyards. Winemakers, scientists, and government officials searched for a cure to the blight. Eventually, it was discovered that American grape varieties were resistant to the bugs. In the wake of the epidemic, European grapevines were grafted onto American rootstock to shield the vines from the little creatures and prevent a repeat of the scourge. While some original vines remained, the practice helped beat back phylloxera, allowing the continent’s wine economy to recover.

Yet not everyone was happy with grafting then—and there’s a growing chorus of elite winemakers moving away from relying on grafted vines now. They claim that the truest expression of a wine comes from francs de pied—or heritage, ungrafted vines—and they argue that grafting creates a filter that affects the quality and taste of the grapes. At the forefront of this movement is the Francs de Pied Heritage Association, a group founded in 2022 and gaining powerful friends behind its lofty goal of “the preservation of 8,000 years of cultural heritage” through the reestablishment of indigenous grape varietals. While their aims may sound noble, are they actually wise?

On a rainy evening in Monaco last month, a who’s who of the wine world converged in the imposing Salle Belle Époque of the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo. They were there to celebrate ungrafted grapevines Francs de Pied calls “the holy grail of viticulture.” Michelin three-starred chef Yannick Alléno served guests—which included Prince Albert II of Monaco, honorary chairman of Francs de Pied—a multi-course dinner paired with wines that allowed for side-by-side comparisons of bottles made from grafted and ungrafted vines. It was a show of force for the organization advocating for UNESCO heritage status for its grapes.

Attendees that night included exceptional winemakers pouring their wares: Egon Müller of the eponymous Mosel Riesling house; John Geber, proprietor of Barossa Syrah powerhouse Château Tanunda; Burgundy phenomenon Thibault Liger-Belair; and Panos Zoumboulis, winemaker extraordinaire at La Tour Melas in Greece. And, of course, the outspoken Loïc Pasquet, owner and winemaker of Liber Pater, who is the current president of Francs de Pied; he tells us, “When you have ungrafted francs de pied, the connection between the soil and the vine is total and the grape is totally different. The taste of the wine is different.”

Pasquet can command upwards of $33,000 a bottle for wines composed of “100 percent native varieties and 100 percent ungrafted francs de pied,” he says. Pasquet has fellow travelers in his mission. In addition to several wineries in Greece, Zoumboulis planted a 49-acre ungrafted vineyard in Argentina for Bodegas Krontiras. “My vision is to preserve all existing ungrafted vineyards and to establish even more in the future,” he says. “Pre-phylloxera centenarian vineyards should be considered treasures and declared as UNESCO monuments, and new ungrafted vineyards should be allowed to be planted in regions with sandy soils which are unfriendly to phylloxera.”

Guillaume Large, winemaker at Résonance (Maison Louis Jadot’s project in Willamette Valley, Oregon) farms 19 acres of ungrafted vines for his Résonance Vineyard Pinot Noir, which represents about 10 percent of the winery’s total production. First planted in 1981 using French and Swiss clones, this dry-farmed organic vineyard has its own dedicated tractor and tiller to avoid spreading phylloxera between sites. The first American winery to join the Francs de Pied association, Résonance is also planning to release ungrafted Chardonnay from a recently purchased vineyard in the Eola Amity Hills AVA.

The francs de pied wines are finding a fan base as well. “From my experience, ungrafted vines are able to produce wines with an extra soul, a unique elegance and an ethereal character,” says Master of Wine Jeremy Cukierman. Others are not so sure. “I don’t think wine chemistry has fully caught up yet to definitely answer this question yet,” says Lise Asimont, senior vice president of Foley Family Farms, who oversees 5,000 acres of vineyards including seven acres of ungrafted Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in Walla Walla, Washington. Thus, any differences in quality may be perceived rather than actual.

While some people debate the taste, others worry about the risk of vineyards leaving themselves susceptible to phylloxera again in this pursuit of purity. Despite the predominance of grafted vines and stringent vineyard practices the world over, phylloxera remains alive and well. They walk—and fly—among us. “There is phylloxera present in all of our growing regions,” Asimont says. “We farm from Santa Barbara County in California all the way north to Walla Walla in Washington, and we utilize rootstocks in all of our growing regions except for Washington state to manage the threat of soil-born pests like phylloxera but also nematodes as well.”

Master of Wine Sarah Abbott is on the fence about claims that ungrafted wines are better. “I don’t claim to be able to pick out specific markers of aroma, texture, or structure from an ungrafted vine,” she says. The founder of the Old Vine Conference, which is dedicated to recognizing and promoting wines from heritage vineyards with at least 35 years of age, she is, however, of the belief that ungrafted vines may pose a danger to vineyards in their proximity. “There are certainly wine professionals who think it is bonkers to actively promote the planting of old vines,” she says.

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The proximity of francs de pied and grafted vines is analogous to vaccinated and unvaccinated people coming in contact with one another. It’s hard to know if older adults still have full immunity to polio or measles or if there haven’t been outbreaks simply because everyone has been vaccinated and there is no exposure to the virus. Laurent Delaunay, proprietor of Edouard Delaunay in Burgundy, tells us that one challenge with grafted vines is that much of the rootstock used in the region was chosen 140 years ago when soil and climate conditions were different than today. Delaunay, the current president of the Burgundy Wine Board, doesn’t see a risk in having ungrafted vineyards close to those with American rootstock and says he is working on selecting new rootstock that will not only resist phylloxera but will be better adapted to drought. And experimenting with heritage vines offers more opportunities to future-proof wine grapes. “The movement to appreciate ungrafted vines has stimulated more research into the active management of a phylloxera-infested vineyard, and also into alternative methods of protecting against phylloxera, such as deliberate flooding,” Abbott says.

As for the potential threat of those vineyards to grafted vines nearby, Zouboulis proclaims, “Actually, it’s us who should be concerned about phylloxera coming from grafted neighboring vines, but we are not. Our vines are pre-phylloxera, so they have survived the insect’s attack during the 19th century and are still surviving!”     

However, even those who have suffered the ills of phylloxera remain proponents of francs de pied. Riesling virtuoso Müller told us at the dinner in Monte Carlo that he lost a one-hectare (2.47 acres) vineyard of own-rooted vines to phylloxera in 2018, which has since been replanted with grafted vines. Asked what his neighbors thought about the loss of his vineyard, Müller replied, “They probably thought it served me right.” That loss didn’t cause him to tear everything up though. “About 20 percent of my vineyards in Scharzhofberg and 10 percent of Wiltinger Braune Kupp are ungrafted,” he told us. “The wines from ungrafted vines are more concentrated, deeper and more complex while slightly lower in sugar at harvest.” For that reason, he argues winemakers shouldn’t be content with grafted wines: “It should be possible to find a way to overcome the problem of phylloxera.”

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