Phylloxera in the Penedès
Wine production throughout the second half of the 19th century was very high. Most of the product obtained was used for export. The Catalan wine industry took advantage of the crisis in the neighbouring France, its main competitor in the market, caused by phylloxera, a Hemiptera insect that feeds on the vine stock.
Despite attempts to prevent its spread, the phylloxera plague invaded the vineyards of the municipality of Sant Martí in September 1891. It destroyed all the autochthonous vines and caused a serious socio-economic crisis in the town and the region. All the surviving vines had to be uprooted and many plots of land were abandoned. Many researchers sought a solution to the problem, but the use of carbon sulphide, although effective, was very costly due to the number of hectares affected. The introduction of the phylloxera-resistant American vine was the solution, and together with the transformation towards a more specialised agriculture paved the way for the reactivation of the local economy.