"The seed reveals that people in France have been cultivating this immensely popular variety of grape since at least the 1400s, providing a link between modern France and its distant wine-loving past."
"The study confirms that generations of winegrowers had been using what are today called 'clonal propagation' techniques, such as preserving cuttings of particular grape varieties for 600 years."
"Ancient texts had offered indications this was happening, but outside of paleogenomics, it is very difficult to characterise this technique."
A 600-year-old grape seed found in a medieval French hospital is genetically identical to modern pinot noir grapes. This discovery indicates that pinot noir cultivation in France dates back to at least the 1400s. The research suggests that ancient winegrowers practiced clonal propagation techniques, preserving specific grape varieties for centuries. The study also highlights the historical context of grape cultivation during significant events like the Hundred Years' War and the life of Joan of Arc. The findings were published in Nature Communications and involved sequencing genomes of grape seeds from various historical periods.
Read at The Local France
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