Hungarian winemaker Viktor Keszler had to rip out young vines after only three harvests -- when they should last at least 25 years -- after they were infected by flavescence doree disease that is threatening Europe's wine regions.

"We spray our vineyard to protect it, but it is futile: the leafhoppers carrying the disease move to untreated vineyards or wild vines nearby and return infected," the 45-year-old told AFP.

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.