Exploring how American Rootstock Saves the Old World

Homecoming tasting: Exploring how American Rootstock Saves the Old World
with Chef Rod

Saturday, October 10th | 1-4pm

In the 1860s, a tiny root-feeding louse called phylloxera, native to eastern North America, made its way to France, most likely on imported American vines. It nearly wiped out Europe's vineyards. The fix came from the same place as the problem: native American vines, which evolved alongside the pest and shrug it off. Graft a European vinifera vine onto an American rootstock and you get classic fruit on roots that survive. That one move saved Bordeaux, Burgundy, and most of the world's great vineyards.

So we're bringing it full circle. Six wines from classic Old World grapes, all grown in the Americas, from high-altitude Mexico to the Finger Lakes, Oregon, California, and Argentina. Old World grapes, New World soil, and a story that starts with American roots.

The Lineup

2023 Vinaltura Gewürztraminer, Querétaro, Mexico
Vinifera first reached the Americas with the Spanish in the 1500s, and Mexico was the first stop. Vinaltura is a family-run vineyard above 6,000 feet in the Valle de Colón. Dry, floral, and tropical, with lychee, rose petal, and passion fruit.

2025 Apollo's Praise Grüner Veltliner, Lahoma Vineyard, Finger Lakes, NY
Austria's great white grape on a sandstone hill above Seneca Lake, from young winemakers Kelby Russell and Julia Hoyle. A cold soak and neutral French oak give it texture alongside white pepper, flint, and grapefruit pith. Fun history: vinifera only took hold in the Finger Lakes in the 1950s, when Dr. Konstantin Frank proved it could survive the winters on cold-hardy rootstock.

2023 Cadre Sea Queen Albariño, Edna Valley, California
The vines came from cuttings of Morgadio, a famous Rías Baixas estate, and were planted just over five miles from the Pacific. Cadre calls Edna Valley the New World home of Albariño. Salty, bright, and citrusy, with orange blossom and sea spray. Spanish cuttings, California coast.

2025 Racine "Klee" Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Organic, family-vineyard Pinot from the north Willamette, with a good chunk from Yamhill-Carlton. The producer is Roots Wine Co. and racine is French for root, so it fits. Dark cherry compote, strawberry, rose oil, and soft tannins. Burgundy's grape, Oregon's heart.

2019 Adalgisa Malbec, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
Malbec is a French grape that arrived in Mendoza in the 1850s and made itself at home. Adalgisa is a tiny family estate in Chacras de Coria, with a vineyard planted in 1916, organically farmed, under 500 cases a year, made by Carmelo Patti. Two years in French oak and time in bottle before release. Elegant, red-fruited, and almost Burgundian.

2023 Récoltant Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Bordeaux's king grape, made Napa's own. Napa had its own phylloxera reckoning in the 1980s, when a widely planted rootstock called AxR1 gave out and huge parts of the valley had to be replanted. Récoltant (French for "farmer") focuses on cooler southern sites like Coombsville for a Bordeaux-inspired Cab, with dark fruit, cedar, tobacco leaf, and bright acidity.

Six grapes, six corners of the Americas, one story. Come taste the homecoming.