Perfecting Pinot.(Science and Technology)

Byline: Barbie Nadeau

Scientists -- from France, no less -- now want to tinker with the DNA of wine.

Pinot Noir has always been a favorite with wine enthusiasts, but in recent years demand for this popular and perplexing variety has soared. American sales of pinot noir have risen 40 percent since the 2004 premiere of the movie "Sideways," and wine reviewers have only fanned the flames. Master sommelier Madeline Triffon, for instance, has compared pinot noir's sensual warmth to sex in a glass -- "chock full of incredible texture and hedonistic pleasures." She calls it a wine "so seductive that it's very, very hard to say 'no' to."

Scientists have recently trained the tools of genetics on the beloved pinot-noir grape. Last month in the journal Nature, a consortium of biologists published the complete genome of the grapevine Vitis Vinifera. The study has caused a great deal of consternation and puzzlement among Europeans and unwelcome publicity for sommeliers and wine purists. The research is opposed not only by Europeans who are against genetically modified food of any sort but also by those who have been vigorously protective of wine making, an industry steeped in traditions that bind wine to the land on which its grapes are grown.

It would be bad enough if the research had been conducted in America, the evil empire of genetically modified food, or at the bidding of some big food company, but it was a wholly European initiative. The researchers hail from the French-Italian Public Consortium for Grapevine Genome Characterization, which is supported by the ministries of Agriculture in France and Italy and coordinated by the national research and statistical centers of each country. They undertook the work precisely because it makes it possible to tinker with the pinot-noir genome. Not only is pinot noir the easiest grape to sequence, but it is also the core grape plant in the species from which virtually every other grape is derived; having a sequence of the pinot-noir genome, in other words, would make it easier to sequence the genomes of other grapes. "This knowledge can be used in applied projects geared towards developing grapes that are resistant to diseases, contributing to agricultural practices that are compatible with the environment and reducing the use of chemicals," says Paolo de Castro, head of Italy's Ministry of Health, which helped fund the study.

Indeed, conditions like Pierce's disease and grapevine fanleaf virus account for revenue losses of tens of thousands of euros each year in the wine industry. Researchers state that a simple modification of the grape could lead to a greater resistance to disease and a decrease in the use of pesticide, which is often a necessary evil of wine making.

The study also reveals tantalizing clues as to what makes pinot noir, one of the most mysterious and complex grapes, tick. Pinot noir has 89 functional genes that contribute to its flavor and aroma, which get far more specific than the usual "woody " or "fruity" definitions. Now that scientists have identified what parts of ...