Know Your Vines
August 8, 2022 11:23 AM Subscribe
Ampelography is the art and science of grapevine identification, an activity revolutionized by modern genotyping and DNA analysis techniques known as 'Molecular Ampelography'. For even more technical detail see 'A Modern Ampelography: A Genetic Basis for Leaf Shape and Venation Patterning in Grape' by Daniel H. Chitwood et al.
Ampelography is a word I learned yesterday via the wikipedia article on Ancient Rome and Wine.
Ampelography is a word I learned yesterday via the wikipedia article on Ancient Rome and Wine.
So many historical myths (about grape varietal identities) are still being dispelled via molecular analysis, the whole history of wine is being remapped.
Not that this necessarily leads to better winemaking, but it does defuse some of the age old marketing ploys that attempt to sell wines by reputation, rather than by deliciousness. That said; it was actually a New World ploy to redefine wine with respect to Olde Worlde logic (which was more about region/terroir and blend of local varietals, a paradigm no non-European producer could reasonably compete with), reducing certain wine types to their constituent grape varietals, and then putting those on the label (so as to countervene the Chateau / région / AOC / DOCG etc. marketing strategy), ultimately forcing European producers to compete on these new terms: who makes the most delicious Cabernet Sauvignon, or Sangiovese, Chardonnay or Syrah? So the truths that molecular ampelography pursues, they’re sound science, but have been brought to the fore by a certain market logic.
(European producers have since waged their revenge: they used DNA analyses to identify more and more ancient/hyperlocal varieties, that are simply unlikely to ever be brought, or vinified, elsewhere - thereby again recasting their distinct differentiation, to regain their potential advantage (of unchallengeable autochthonous historical heft).
posted by progosk at 12:55 PM on August 8, 2022 [2 favorites]
Not that this necessarily leads to better winemaking, but it does defuse some of the age old marketing ploys that attempt to sell wines by reputation, rather than by deliciousness. That said; it was actually a New World ploy to redefine wine with respect to Olde Worlde logic (which was more about region/terroir and blend of local varietals, a paradigm no non-European producer could reasonably compete with), reducing certain wine types to their constituent grape varietals, and then putting those on the label (so as to countervene the Chateau / région / AOC / DOCG etc. marketing strategy), ultimately forcing European producers to compete on these new terms: who makes the most delicious Cabernet Sauvignon, or Sangiovese, Chardonnay or Syrah? So the truths that molecular ampelography pursues, they’re sound science, but have been brought to the fore by a certain market logic.
(European producers have since waged their revenge: they used DNA analyses to identify more and more ancient/hyperlocal varieties, that are simply unlikely to ever be brought, or vinified, elsewhere - thereby again recasting their distinct differentiation, to regain their potential advantage (of unchallengeable autochthonous historical heft).
posted by progosk at 12:55 PM on August 8, 2022 [2 favorites]
(Having taken a closer look at these excellent links, the ampelographer’s expertise strikes me as akin to the mushroom connoisseur’s: only by careful, reiterated study of distinguishing phenotypical characteristics does one acquire that degree of instant recognition of a varietal/subspecies…)
posted by progosk at 1:54 PM on August 8, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by progosk at 1:54 PM on August 8, 2022 [1 favorite]
unchallengeable autochthonous historical heft
Naaah, just soak the labels off the bottles [as in the Judgment of Paris in 1976] and all that heft dribbles away down the autochthonous t'ilet.
If even the experts are full of gas, you can absolutely discount the oenoblather of your colleagues at the Holiday Works Dinner.
The one rule that everyone can remember is that you must never drink red wine while eating fish . . . because the sky will fall? This is addressable by science and it turns out that the problem arises when fruits de la mer are exposed to iron which breaks down a sea-food-specific fatty acid to make a rank fishy smell that puts many people off their food. Red wines tend to have higher concentrations of iron, so you're more likely to have an adverse experience with red wine and fish but many red wines will be fine and some white wines will trigger the reaction. Nuance is too much for most of us, hence The Fish White Rule.
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:58 PM on August 8, 2022 [1 favorite]
Naaah, just soak the labels off the bottles [as in the Judgment of Paris in 1976] and all that heft dribbles away down the autochthonous t'ilet.
If even the experts are full of gas, you can absolutely discount the oenoblather of your colleagues at the Holiday Works Dinner.
The one rule that everyone can remember is that you must never drink red wine while eating fish . . . because the sky will fall? This is addressable by science and it turns out that the problem arises when fruits de la mer are exposed to iron which breaks down a sea-food-specific fatty acid to make a rank fishy smell that puts many people off their food. Red wines tend to have higher concentrations of iron, so you're more likely to have an adverse experience with red wine and fish but many red wines will be fine and some white wines will trigger the reaction. Nuance is too much for most of us, hence The Fish White Rule.
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:58 PM on August 8, 2022 [1 favorite]
the Judgment of Paris in 1976
That Paris “do” is precisely the varietal vs. region ploy I described (which did not come down to any fakery/relabelling, btw). Perhaps Cesanese, Timorasso, Pecorino, Lugana or Susumaniello et. al. haven’t crossed your path (just to mention Italy), but autochthonous is definitely a substantial thing/counterstrategy.
This is addressable by science
In the latest twist, the rejection of that very concept - that there’s actually something objective/universal in wine appraisal - seems to be the very crux of the latest wineworld tack: “natural” wines (and all their motley ilk)… whose whole point (and flabbergasting success) is due to an ostentation of the immeasurability of the “quality” of a wine, their superiority a matter of fideistic acclaim.
posted by progosk at 5:24 PM on August 8, 2022
That Paris “do” is precisely the varietal vs. region ploy I described (which did not come down to any fakery/relabelling, btw). Perhaps Cesanese, Timorasso, Pecorino, Lugana or Susumaniello et. al. haven’t crossed your path (just to mention Italy), but autochthonous is definitely a substantial thing/counterstrategy.
This is addressable by science
In the latest twist, the rejection of that very concept - that there’s actually something objective/universal in wine appraisal - seems to be the very crux of the latest wineworld tack: “natural” wines (and all their motley ilk)… whose whole point (and flabbergasting success) is due to an ostentation of the immeasurability of the “quality” of a wine, their superiority a matter of fideistic acclaim.
posted by progosk at 5:24 PM on August 8, 2022
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posted by Greg_Ace at 12:35 PM on August 8, 2022 [1 favorite]