The Valle de Parras and phylloxera disaster, 1870-1910. Genesis and concolidation of a winery in times of crisis

Abstract

Throughout the independent era, one of the main trades of the village and city of Parras, in Mexico, was that of production of wines, spirits and liquors. During the last third of the nineteenth century, the national demand for alcoholic beverages increased, augmenting Parras' economical importance. Several harvesters embarked on modernizing processes, and among them the Madero family stood out. However, upon attempting to diversify the varieties of vitis vinifera, they brought the filoxera to the Valley. The centuries-old Parras varieties were destroyed by the pest, and the technique of grafting had to be introduced. Thanks to their opulence and strategic position in political and business networks, the Maderos managed to overcome the crisis and allowed one of the most ancient wine-producing enterprises in Mexico to remain productive. The present study does not aim to become a treaty on the problem of filoxera on a national scale, it has a purely regional scope, of the time in which Parras was the main producer of grape wine and spirits in mexico