Genetically modified wine

For the beleaguered winemakers of France, threats come in many guises. One French grower complained that each bottle of New World wine that lands in Europe is a 8220;bomb targeted at the heart of our rich European culture8221;. But few things agitate French winemakers more than other winemakers8217; unspeakable irreverence towards the terroir, the mix of soil and climate found in the place where a vine is grown. The strength of feeling is so great that the country even has its own breed of, er, terroiristes. A group of masked, militant French winemakers has attacked foreign tankers of wine, bricked up a public building and caused small explosions at supermarkets.

Now France8217;s balaclava-clad winemakers have a new horror to see off: transgenic wine. Scientists have unpicked the genetic secrets of pinot noir, the grape that produces some of the world8217;s finest wines and also contributes to some blends of champagne. It turns out to be the offspring of two very different parent varieties 8212; they have less genetic material in common, in fact, than humans do with chimpanzees. The researchers8217; findings, which cast light on the origins of pinot noir8217;s subtle flavours, will make it easier to engineer new varieties that can grow in places where cultivation is impractical today. Efforts to create transgenic grapevines are well advanced, and transgenic wine yeasts are already starting to appear in American winemaking.

Alas, those working on transgenic vines have failed to heed the lessons of earlier GM-food fiascos. They are creating what the producers want disease-resistant grapevines rather than making tweaks that also appeal to consumers.

What sort of traits might consumers want, you ask? More reliable flavours for one thing. No longer need you doubt whether a wine truly does possess flavours of exotic coffee, chocolate, Asian spice, roast duck and blackberry and prune liqueur. Genes from those very animals and plants could be spliced straight into the grape8217;s genome. Forget hours spent swilling, swirling, sniffing, gurgling and spitting 8212; it will all be there in black and white, in the sequence data8230;

Excerpted from 8216;The Economist8217;, December 19