It has been known to scientists that white grapes arose as a variant of red grapes at some point in history - but how? This has not been known until a new study was conducted on it.
The origin of wines like Chardonnay, riesling and sauvignon blanc can be traced back to the era when dinosaurs romped the earth! It was more than 3,000 years ago, when the white grapes used to make these wines evolved by lucky genetic coincidence, or call it a happy accident, according to Australian scientists.
Studying the genetics of the grapevine species - Vitis vinifera - used to produce almost all the wine varieties sold today, be it white or red, Dr Mandy Walker from Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Plant Industry laboratories in Adelaide and her colleagues have satisfied their impertinent minds tracing back the first evolution of the white grape varieties of the species.
Dr Walker said,
This was a lucky coincidence for all the white wine drinkers around the world. Mutations in single genes happen at a fairly low frequency, but the grapes had to have mutations in two genes to turn from red to white and that’s just very, very rare.
Exactly when and where the switch might have happened isn’t clear. It most likely occurred before the time of Tutankhamen.
