DNA From 2,000-Year-Old Grape Seeds Reveals Origins of Modern Wine
DNA from 80 seeds shows Roman-era vineyards spread choice grape varieties and preserved a long-lived white clone in Chianti, researchers said.
- Genetic analysis of seeds recovered from Cetamura del Chianti revealed that white grapes were once the dominant crop in Italy's region now famous for red Sangiovese wines.
- Researchers sequenced the DNA of 80 seeds, identifying a single variety passed directly from Etruscans to Romans, which Co-author Professor Nancy De Grummond of Florida State University said adds an important chapter on wine history.
- Oya Inanli, who completed the work for her PhD at the University of York, confirmed the markers revealed this dominant clone produced white berries, while the team also found evidence of wild grape collection.
- Nathan Wales, from the University of York's Department of Archaeology, noted wine grapes enjoyed by Romans are mere steps away from modern varieties, adding, "When you drink wine made from these relic varieties, you are tasting history that is just a stone's throw from what was served at Roman dinner tables thousands of years ago."
- The ancient seed connects directly to a legendary, 400-year-old grapevine growing in Maribor, Slovenia, demonstrating the resilience of these varieties within the Roman Empire's sophisticated agricultural network.
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39 Articles
Deep in a well near the Tuscan town of Cetamura del Chianti, grape seeds had been waiting for two thousand years in oxygen-poor mud that preserved them virtually intact. Researchers from the University of York have now extracted DNA from them, and what they found turns the image of the famous wine region upside down: the Chianti region, known worldwide for […] More science? Read the latest articles on Scientias.nl.
The history of wine in one of the most emblematic regions of Italy has just been rewritten thanks to genetics. An international team of scientists has sequenced the DNA of two thousand-year-old grape nuggets, recovered from the interior of ancient wells in the site of Cetamura del Chianti, and has achieved [...]
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