Meet the American who saved the Champagne industry: Missouri scientist Charles Valentine Riley
Fox News
Charles Valentine Riley was a Missouri scientist credited with saving the French wine industry from an invasive pest called phylloxera by grafting French vines to American roots.
He was an entomologist. He studied bugs. And he saved the Champagne industry. Phylloxera caused billions in economic damage, with an immeasurable impact on French culture and national identity. Seventeen percent of all the Champagne sold in the U.S. is purchased in December. Riley found splendor in creatures most people find repugnant. Missouri’s Stone Hill Winery was the third-largest winemaker in the world in the 1870s. Riley was opposed by the French scientific elite, government officials and influential growers. Tension exploded into violence with the Champagne Riots of 1911. The French government chose to define and then protect Champagne. He went on to a distinguished career in international entomology. Kerry J. Byrne is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.
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