Rhone. There it had a well established foothold until the phylloxera epidemic of the mid to late 19th century decimated plantings. As the French and other European wine regions recovered from the phylloxera scourge by grafting Vitis vinifera varieties to American rootstock, it was discovered that Mourvèdre vines did not take well to the grafting and many vineyards were replanted with other varieties. Mourvèdre arrived in California in the 1860s as part of the Pellier collection. The variety, known as Mataro, was used primarily for bulk produced jug wines. In the 1980s and 90s, interest in Mourvèdre as a premium grape variety picked up as the Rhone Rangers began seeking out old-vine plantings of the variety in the eastern part of Contra Costa County. In the 1990s, critically acclaimed bottlings from Bonny Doon Vineyard and Cline Cellars Winery promoted demand in the variety and by the mid-2000s, plantings of Mourvèdre in California had risen to 260 ha (650 acres). In Australia, the variety (known there as Mataro) has had a long history in the country with plantings dating back to the mid-19th century. In the 1980s, many of these old vine plantings were uprooted in a government sponsored vine pulling scheme but some still survive and are producing today. While historically the variety was used mainly as an anonymous blending grape in fortified wines, the variety saw a rise in interest in the 1990s as producers started receiving acclaim for GSM (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre) blends (many from the surviving, low yield old vine plantings). With a slight increase in planting there were more than 1000 ha of Mataro in Australia by the mid-2000s. It has been put forward by Ampelographists that Mourvèdre may be the parent to the esteemed grape Mavrud, or that at least Mavrud is a clone of Mourvèdre, imported into Bulgaria by the Romans. Viticulture According to ampelographer Pierre Galet Mourvèdre thrives in warm climates as the variety has a tendency to both bud and ripen very late. While the variety can recover well from late spring frost due to the late budding, it can be very temperature sensitive throughout its growing season with even low winter temperatures affecting its dormancy. Though the grape can adapt to a variety of vineyard soil types, the most ideal sites are very warm, south facing (Northern hemisphere) slopes with shallow, clay soils that can retain the necessary moisture to