In viticulture, these include the USA, South America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa (one could also add Canada ). These areas were opened up for viticulture from the beginning of the 16th century through the great voyages of discovery. The colonists had above all a religious motivation for viticulture, namely to produce Mass wine. On the North American continent, especially on the east coast, there were numerous wild vines growing rampantly in the forests, but targeted cultivation or winemaking was unknown among the indigenous peoples. Due to the peculiarity of the American vines, the colonists were unable to obtain drinkable wine from them. The wines made from them had the unpleasant strawberry flavour for European tastes or the foxy. Therefore, European varieties began to be planted everywhere. But mostly this was unsuccessful, because phylloxera, fungal diseases such as mildew, other diseases and extreme climatic conditions caused most attempts to fail. The causes remained unknown for centuries.
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Egon Mark
Diplom-Sommelier, Weinakademiker und Weinberater, Volders (Österreich)