A presumably new vine disease that appeared in Austria and Germany from the end of the 20th century (in 2002 for the first time on a massive and widespread scale). The name Zweigelt disease (which has since become commonplace) arose from the fact that the Zweigelt grape variety seemed to be particularly affected.

The term "physiological grape wilt" is also commonly used to distinguish it from infectious diseases. There is no standardised international terminology. Related but not synonymous terms are "berry shrivel", "grape berry shrivel", "shrivel disorder" or occasionally "Zweigelt decline". However, these terms describe different phenomena and should not be equated with the disease described here.
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