Rueda Wines at Risk

An invasion of mouse-like rodents is laying waste to a broad swath of farmland in central Spain. Local farmers are trying everything from burning fields to running around trying to hit the creatures with giant rolling pins, but so far the rodents don't seem too bothered. Officials estimate that up to 750 million of the animals have infested an area of 1,000 square miles. Damage to crops is estimated at $40 million. The regional government of Castilla y Leon has approved the use of poison and the burning of fields in 621 municipalities, hoping to eradicate the plague. However the pesky rodents are working their way northeastward, into the wine-growing region of Rueda, where some of Spain's leading wines are produced.