Rootstock Rebellion: How the Bottom Half of the Vine Shapes the Wine
The Unsung Hero Beneath Every Great Vintage
Ask a wine lover to name what shapes a wine’s character, and you’ll hear about grape varieties, climate, barrels—even yeast. But there’s one key player almost no one talks about: rootstocks.
These humble underground structures don’t make headlines or tasting notes, but they’re the very foundation of modern viticulture. They protect against pests, adapt vines to challenging soils, and influence everything from how grapes ripen to how the wine tastes. At Willowcroft, where we farm without irrigation and face Virginia’s humid summers, choosing the right rootstock isn’t optional—it’s vital.
So why don’t we hear more about them? To answer that, let’s dig into history, science, and a little Texas-sized adventure.