French wine has long been known for its excellence, but what you might not know is that over a century ago, that industry was nearly destroyed. Not just France’s—in fact, many nations’ viticulture industries and economies were severely hit by what is now known as “the Great French Wine Blight,” an infestation of the grape phylloxera. This single, nearly microscopic species cost these countries millions in hectoliters of wine, and billions in revenue—France alone lost 40% of their vineyards [1.] It was the modernization of the 19th Century and its shrinking of the globe that made such a disaster so widely felt. Yet this insect’s impact extends beyond your history textbook—for it is still around, and there is no “cure” for its presence. The solution discovered in the late 1800s is the same one vintners use today. Worryingly, there is a good chance that nature will outmaneuver our techniques, endangering wine industries once more. Thus, history is alive and felt, just as it always is—which is what makes it so important to study.