Wine, Grapes, and Conservation of Wild Grapes
OSGF
Chocolate, hearts, roses, maybe even a tiny cherub holding a bow and arrow are all things that come to mind and occupy our grocery stores and pharmacy isles during the month of February. Celebrating St. Valentine takes many forms, even sometimes anti-celebrations. You may take up the festivities by opening a bottle of wine to share with those you love, or on your own. Regardless of who you share it with, in this blog post, we are highlighting the history of wine, grapes and the important work being done to conserve our native grapes, which are vital for the success of vineyards as they grapple with the impacts of climate change.
The process of winemaking and the grapes used for it haven’t changed much in the last century. The earliest evidence of winemaking was found 20 miles south of Tbilisi, Georgia, which dated all the way back to the Neolithic period (6000- 5800 BC). The grape used back then was Vitis vinifera, and is believed to be the earliest example of that particular species to make wine. In the world of viticulture, this species maintains its popularity and accounts for almost all of the wine worldwide.
Grape leaf variation. American Manual of the Grape Vines and the Art of Making Wine. C. S. Rafinesque. 1830.
According to the International Organization of Vine and Wine, “of the world's 10,000 known grapevine varieties, 13 cover more than one-third of the world's vineyard area and 33 varieties cover 50%.”While impressive, this ration ultimately lessens the overall genetic diversity, and the issues that come along with that. In the Vitis genus, there are close to 60-70 species worldwide, and those grapes are broken down by their geographical location and make up three main groups: the American group, East Asian Group, and Eurasian group.
Today the cultivation of the wine grapes and varieties within the three groups are represented all over the world. At time of writing, according to the Vitis International Variety Catalog, wine grapes are grown in 44 countries. The most abundantly grown and planted of all grape varieties is Cabernet Sauvignon, comprising a total ~7% of the world’s vineyard area. In perhaps the most recognizable wine country, France hosts five different regions all with a select regional grape and associated varieties.
Vitis vinifera tendrils. Image via Medicinal Plants of the Northeast.
There are roughly between 60-65 native grape vine species that span North America, Asia, and Europe and roughly 25 species of North American wild grapes. The overall physical characteristics of our North American wild grape species are not dissimilar to those of the cultivated species grown in vineyards. Tendrils, which are either modified leaves or stems, arise opposite of a leaf and help them climb and spread. Other native plants like Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), and even poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) also utilize tendrils. However, unlike varieties in vineyards, wild grapes can reach taller heights and in some cases resemble small trees. They are also a host plant and larval food for our native moths as well as an excellent food source for birds and other wildlife.
California Pomo woven basket with shell beads and traces of feathers, ca. 19th Century. Plant fiber, shell, feathers. Image via Collection Mills College Art Museum.
Indigenous Americans took advantage of this spreading habit and incorporated the native species into the many materials used for weaving. Specifically, the Northern Pomo (‘poʊmoʊ) who occupied the greater part of Northern central California, used Vitis californica (ba:mt̪a) as one of many weaving materials. The juvenile sapwood was tender and pliable, which made it suitable material used to bind rafters and posts when making ceremonial lodges and at the opening of baskets. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) softened the tartness of the muscadine (Muscadinia rotundifolia var. rotundifolia) to make Cherokee Grape Dumplings (ᏣᎳᎩ ᏖᎸᎳᏗ ᎠᏑᎨᏙᏗ).
Following colonization in North America, relentless attempts were made to establish the European grapes (Vitis vinifera) colonists were fond of with consistent failure for almost 300 years. In fact, an act was passed in 1619 requiring male property owners to plant ten Vitis vinifera plants for wine production. Unsurprisingly, these attempts also failed. Even Thomas Jefferson, who once said of Italian Montepulciano wine “[the] habit having rendered the light and high flavored wines a necessary of life with me” struggled to successfully establish wine grapes. This feat was eventually accomplished by a colonialist settlement near what is now Jacksonville, Florida.
Fast forward to the present day, there are now vineyards in every state (yes, even Alaska), with many utilizing different grape varieties and experimenting with the fermenting process. These vineyards, though, are coming face to face with the onset of climate change and the imminent instability of the future. Viniculture is already notoriously sensitive to minute changes in climate and temperature, which, if changed, alters the very chemistry of the grapes. This delicate temperament is something that viticulturists are aware of and have been continuously working with breeders to remedy since the inception of the first winery.
Despite these measures, the vines are still struggling. Succumbing to higher pest pressures, unpredictable cold injury, and overall increased abiotic stressors all pose problems for a sustainable vineyard operation. The biggest wine producing state, California, was thrust into the thick of it as the 2020 wildfires rushed through the famed wine region of Napa Valley. Direct impacts of climate change can’t be mitigated so simply as relocating an entire vineyard, but viticulturists, researchers, farmers, and winemakers are looking to the wild grape relatives in order to adapt.
Vitis rotundifolia. The Grapes of New York (Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station for the Year 1907, Volume II) (State of New York - Department of Agriculture Fifteen Annual Report, Vol. 3, Part I). Hedrick, U.P.
All North American grapes are part of the Vitaceae family, which also contains the muscadines and scuppernongs (Muscadinia sp.). This species richness amongst North America and Canada is significant not only within its own right but serves as a strong germplasm source to contribute to further grape breeding. Grafting is a historied horticulture technique that involves a rootstock and scion which are grafted together to form a single plant. Rootstocks are utilized for their bred resistance to certain pests or conditions. A big culprit for grape vines in the U.S. is phylloxera, a small insect native to eastern North America that feeds on the roots of the plant, ultimately killing it. The hybridization of wild grape species Vitis riparia, V. rupestris, and V. berlandieri all have been instrumental in the breeding and success of resistant rootstocks. Researchers are continuing to explore the breadth of utilizing wild grapes for resilient wine grape vines adapted for a continuously changing climate. This means taking steps to conserve them becomes equally important.
To explore the potentials and conservation of wild grapes, Conservation of North American Native Grapes Workshop was hosted by Oak Spring in the fall of 2022. This was the result of a collaboration between NatureServe, US Botanic Garden (USBG) and USDA Agricultural Research Service to assess the threats of wild crop relatives, and conservation strategies to safeguard existing species. Using grapes as a base model, this partnership aims to create “a conservation strategy for conservation of wild grapes in the United States.” The workshop hosted an array of participants including viticulturists, researchers, breeders, conservationists, botanists, and representatives from the Vitis germplasm collections in both Davis, CA and Geneva, NY. The hope for all is that the result of this foundational conservation work will set a precedent for future conservation of wild crop relatives in North America.
Photo of some of the participants of the Conservation of North American Native Grapes Workshop. October 2022.
This blog post was inspired by the topics discussed at the Conservation of North American Native Grapes Workshop. Thank you to Anne Francis and Nan McCarry. Additional thanks to Assistant Librarian, Kim Fisher.
Banner image via WikiCommons.
References:
“Distribution of the World’s Grapevine Varieties.” OIV - International Organization of Vine and Wine, 2017, https://www.oiv.int/public/medias/5888/en-distribution-of-the-worlds-grapevine-varieties.pdf.
“Good Wine Is a Necessity of Life for Me (Spurious Quotation).” Monticello, https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/good-wine-necessity-life-me-spurious-quotation/.
Barrett, S.A. “Pomo Indian Basketry.” University of California Department of Anthology, 1998, https://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/anthpubs/ucb/text/ucp007-005.pdf.
García de Cortázar-Atauri, I., Duchêne, E., Destrac-Irvine, A., Barbeau, G., de Rességuier, L., Lacombe, T., Parker, A. K., Saurin, N., & van Leeuwen, C. (2017). Grapevine phenology in France: from past observations to future evolutions in the context of climate change. OENO One, 51(2), 115–126. https://doi.org/10.20870/oeno-one.2017.51.2.1622
James A. Bear, Jr., 1984. Originally published as "Reforming the Taste of the Country," in Fall Dinner at Monticello, November 2, 1984, in Honor of James A. Bear, Jr. (Charlottesville, VA: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation).
Ko, Edwin. “Northern Pomolanguage Tools.” Northern Pomo Language Tools, https://northernpomolanguagetools.com/.
Miller, Erston V. “The Natural Origins of Some Popular Varieties of Fruit.” Economic Botany, vol. 8, no. 4, 1954, pp. 337–48. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4287823. Accessed 13 Feb. 2023.
Ula Chrobak, Katarina Zimmer. “Full-Bodied with Notes of Band-Aid and Medicine.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 26 June 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/06/glass-fire-climate-change-impact-wine/661396/.
Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC), www.vivc.de