Tracing the Origins of Grapes with Carole Meredith

The British site Guardian Unlimited published an article, The grape unknown, about Carole Meredith's important contributions. Meredith, professor at University of California: Davis Department of Enology is primarily known as plant geneticist and now for her new winery, Lagier Meredith. She and her husband, Steve Lagier have established a winery, that makes a spicy and concentrated Syrah from their small vineyard on the slopes of Mount Veeder overlooking the Napa Valley.

Some highlights from the article:

She demonstrated that Chardonnay and 15 other varieties associated with northeastern France, were all Gallic in origin. The parents of Chardonnay, as well as Gamay, Aligoté and Pinot Noir, were Pinot and something called Gouais Blanc, both of which were widely planted in Burgundy in the Middle Ages. The French have always claimed that the existence of a village called Chardonnay proved that the greatest white grape was native to their soils.

The origins of Syrah (or Shiraz in Australia) are still somewhat mysterious. She asks, "Did Shiraz come from Shiraz in Iran, as I've always, somewhat romantically, imagined? We don't know for certain, but it looks unlikely. Its parents are Mendeuse Blanche and Dureza, although the latter's origins are unknown."