".. ...Along those lines, we reciprocated by sending France a mess of
winegrape cuttings when their own vineyards were wiped out due to some weird
grape
disease. ....."

Not quite.......

Phylloxera
Although the 19th century is considered to be the "Golden Age" of wines in
Bordeaux and Burgundy, it was not without tragedy for these regions. Around
1863 many of the French vines began to suffer from a mysterious root
disease. It was soon discovered that this disease was the result of the
Phylloxera aphid. Fumigation was attempted to destroy this pest, but it was
too dangerous to the plants and workers to be a real solution.

Eventually it was found that Phylloxera was from America and that it
attacked American vines as well. The roots of American vines were immune to
the destructive power of Phylloxera. In an attempt to save their industry,
European wine makers grafted their vines onto American roots, in order to
make them less vulnerable to Phylloxera. Ironically, the region that may
have been responsible for the mass destruction of vines in Europe, also
saved it from complete ruin. Despite the eventual halt of Phylloxera, many
vineyards had to be replanted and a replanting wave hit Europe in the later
part of the 19th century.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk