Mapping and Tracking the Grapes that Time Forgot
The following text and photos are contributed by Flying Goat Cellars Ambassador Faye Walker:
Uncorking the Truth
Throughout millennia, wine has captured the imagination of poets and philosophers. It has played an integral role in society, both as an item to be consumed and a mystic element to be revered. The history of winemaking is an amalgamation of confounding influences--bigger than what we see in the European and North American distribution of wine grapes. What brought about our modern interpretation of winemaking is no less than a series of cosmic acts through climate change, plant migration, and human experimentation.
Nurturing Mother Nature
The story begins back when North America and Europe were still bound together in the solid land mass of Pangea. The movement of glacial ice sheets was a key factor in the survival of wine grapes prior to the Cretaceous period. When North America split off from Pangea at this time, the alignment of north-south mountain ranges enabled the survival of over 30 species. Vitis vinifera stood alone as the sole survivor in Europe. Over the next several thousand years, the climate improved to more temperate and humid levels. A transformed ecosystem and understanding of plant domestication meant that farmers, not just glaciers, had a say in what grape species would take center stage.
Some of the earliest archaeological findings supporting grapevine domestication date back to the southern Caucasus in 6000 BCE (see Figure 1 for clay pottery analyzed to contain telltale signs of winemaking). Several hundred years passed before the same was seen in Iran, followed by France in 4000 BCE and Italy in 2000 BCE. While many of us associate old world winemaking with skilled and settled civilizations, dedicated wine production actually predates these acts of cultivation in agrarian societies. Georgian wine production was already occurring in 6000 BCE; Neolithic villages made wine from wild grapevines in France before 4000 BCE. In the face of such developments, it could very well be that the desire for fermented beverages encouraged the spread of domestication. Why not--isn't the word "wine" remarkably similar to the word "vine," after all?
Figure 1. A neolithic jar from Georgia dating back to 6000 BCE showing chemical evidence of wine.
Grape Domestication for the Win
There was an inherent issue in pre-domesticated times, which was that wild grapevines were difficult to harvest for their berries. A major achievement in domestication was the switch from cross-fertilizing to self-fertilizing vines. Instead of requiring both male (non-fruit bearing) and female (fruit bearing) plants for a reproducible harvest, grapes could be collected on a single grapevine. The fruit itself also diverged from wild plants, with grapes becoming larger, sweeter, and easier to detach from the stem.
Although grapevine domestication began in the southern Caucasus, our understanding of desirable cultivars tends to come from today's dominant players in old world winemaking: France, Italy, and Spain. Cultivars from these Mediterranean regions are relatively recent (largely from the mid-first millennium BCE), yet they constitute the majority of commercial varieties. To break it down by species, these are pure Vitis vinifera grapevines. To delineate by region, French varietals have gained the most renown. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chardonnay, and Chenin Blanc are just a few that have topped the charts for decades in terms of worldwide popularity.
There are other species and varietals, though, of which most of us are unfamiliar (see Figure 2 for several native wine grapes of the Americas). Regrettably, these cultivars and the resulting wines are little-known outside their place of origin. Right in our own backyard is an entire gamut of interspecies hybrids that are grown throughout the northeastern, southeastern, and midwestern United States (with even more extending further into South America). Some are crossings with feral vines, while others involve the species Vitis labrusca or Vitis rotundifolia. They possess a wide range of flavors, are amenable to producing dry or sweet styles of wine, and have performed appreciably in blind tastings alongside Vitis vinifera cultivars.
Figure 2. Shown are American varietals Concord, Catawba, and Elvira on top (left to right); then Dracut Amber, Norton, and Muscadine on bottom (left to right).
A Monopolization on Taste
If the hankering for a taste of the exotic fruit notes in an Ives wine from the Ohio River Valley strikes, it will be difficult to find. Widespread condemnation of American hybrid grapes by French and other Europeans has led to ongoing aspersion and derision. Reticence to new options stems more from classical tradition than logical reason. It was the regional distinctiveness of certain European wines that first led to their widespread appeal. Analogously, North American cultivars could offer a unique and distinctive set of aromas, tastes, and experiences.
All this being said, it is worth noting that the spread and acceptance of French wine culture is largely a product of geographical and political advantages, from long contacts with Britain and a proximity to rich connoisseur-conscious countries. A glance back to the past is a reminder that the early centers of domestication in Eurasia point to a more deeply connected and widespread vision of viticulture for the future.
Sources and Further Reading
Jackson, R. S. (2008). Wine science: Principles and applications (3rd ed.). Academic Press.
National Geographic (2017). Oldest Evidence of Winemaking Discovered at 8,000-Year-Old Village.
Puckette, M. (2015). Native Wine Grapes of America. Wine Folly.