One of the world’s leading grape geneticists, Carole Meredith, Professor Emerita of UC Davis and owner of Lagier Meredith winery, has spent decades identifying and profiling grape varieties.  It was so interesting that the interview has been split into two episodes. Episode 55 covers the background of Ampelography and DNA profiling as well as the definitions of key terms such as variety, clone, and hybrid. In addition, this episode features the stories of how she uncovered the history of Zinfandel (aka - Primitivo, Crljenak Kaštelanski, and Tribidrag) with Croatian researchers and how wineries use DNA profiling in wine marketing. Detailed Show Notes: Discovering ZinfandelZinfandel has a long history in California. People assumed it was a native California grape, but it is a Vitis Vinifera, so it must come from EuropePeople suspected Croatia, but no evidenceIn the 1970’s - people noticed that Primitivo in Italy’s Puglia looked like Zinfandel, and it was confirmed they are the same grape varietyItalians said the grape is not Italian and came from Dalmatia (modern-day Croatia)CroatiaThey looked at Plavac Mali - a popular red grape in Croatia. It looks similar to Zinfandel, but is not the same, but relatedMike Grgich of Grgich Hills Winery made some introductions to Croatia, but those were dead ends1997 - Ivan Pejic of the University of Zagreb reached out and wanted to understand Croatian grapes betterAfter 3 years of gathering samples, they found it in a Croatian mixed vineyard (a grape named Crljenak Kaštelanski)2001 - At the Natural History Museum in Split, Croatia - found a specimen called Tribidrag that looked like ZinfandelTribidrag was an important grape as far back as the 1300s2011 - Croatian research group was able to extract DNA from dead leaves in the Split museum and confirm it was ZinfandelProves Zinfandel is an ancient grape with historical importanceTribidrag is not an approved varietal name for wine in the US. Lagier Meredith uses it as a fanciful name for their labelLagier Meredith sells mostly to their mailing list so that they can explain the history and the name to their customersRidge calls a wine Tribidrag, growing vines from Croatian cuttings, and wants to partner with Carole to get TTB to have Primitivo and Tribidrag as Zinfandel synonyms US TTB shows Zinfandel and Primitivo as separate varietiesCalifornia Zinfandel producers opposed having Primitivo be a synonym because they didn’t want competition from lots of cheap Italian PrimitivoEU wine label regulations list Zinfandel and Primitivo as synonyms2004 - US & EU sign an agreement on wine labeling to respect each other's laws, so now Italians can label their wines Zinfandel and export them to the USDNA typing - business impactsIt has been a boost for Croatian producers, put them on the map, and now a wine tourism destination with people even visiting the vineyard where Zinfandel was discoveredMostly done out of research institutionsFoundation Plant Services at UC Davis has a commercial DNA typing service - costs ~$300 / sampleSome producers (e.g., Schrader) use clones on labels - used as a distinction, helps to tell the story for marketing Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.