The Field Blend Project - Early V. vinifera Genetics

Early V vinifera Genetics

On this week’s episode of The Field Blend Project we dissect early Vitis vinifera (V vinifera) genetics. We discuss Dr. Carole Meredith and her early pioneering work discovering the parentages of some of the most prominent grape varieties in modern viticulture and winemaking.

Dr. Carole Meredith is a graduate of UC Davis and went on to be a Professor of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis. Her work uses a technique called “microsatellite analysis” to determine parentages via genetic analysis of specific regions of chromosomes. 

Today we outline how microsatellite analysis works, what an experiment looks like, what the data can tell you, and what the data cannot tell you. We create mock data together, analyze the data, and explain how we find confidence in this data. 

What can this kind of data tell us about V vinifera? Why should we care about parentages of V vinifera cultivars? Does this type of genetic analysis help us better understand what we mean when we say “genetically conserved, but not identical”?

The paper referenced in today’s podcast:

Bowers J, Boursiquot J, This P, Chu K, Johansson H, Meredith C. “Historical Genetics: The Parentage of Chardonnay, Gamay, and Other Wine Grapes of Northeastern France”. Science. 285-5433: 1562-1565 (1999).

Music: “Kingsfold” by Cahalen Morrison and Eli West

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