The vineyard virus scare story originally reported by the Indian Express and picked up by NDTV seems to result in more questions than answers. The facts are few and far between. What we do know for certain is that the Pune-based National Research Center for Grapes has confirmed the story. Not surprisingly, most of the wine producers and grape growers are downplaying the significance of the threat. The truth is it is probably too early to tell.

According to various sources, the viruses detected are rugose wood complex and leafroll and have infected varieties imported from France and Italy. The leafroll virus is well known in the wine industry and a few years ago caused major problems in the Stellenbosch wine region of South Africa resulting in reduced vineyard yields and grapes unripened. For more information on both viruses visit Wine Business.com. Please let us know if you have substantive information on the subject.