A taste of history in a glass from Armenia: The Aggie

A taste of history in a glass from Armenia: The Aggie

PanARMENIAN.Net - Wine is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages in the world. The history of this fine delicacy dates back many millennia. In September of 2010, the earliest evidence of wine production was found in a cave in Armenia, proving that humans systematically produced wine 1,000 years earlier than previously thought, The California Aggie says in a fresh article.

Dr. Nelli Hovhannisyan, a professor at Yerevan State University in Armenia, came to UC Davis in late January to share more about the world’s first-known winery at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science. She is responsible for the excavation of the cave.

“The cellars had different layers,” Hovhannisyan said. “The upper layers were bearing wide pots where the wine remains were very concentrated. There were also old manuscripts describing in detail how people were making raisins.”

The Areni cave in Armenia contained a large number of seed specimens.

“The grape remains found in the cave were practically perfect,” Hovhannisyan said.

In archeological excavations, near-perfect relics are rare. The main limitation is the number of available samples from each site. Merely five or 10 seeds would limit the statistical confidence in the scientific claims.

“You have to have enough number of seeds with the right level of preservation,” Hovhannisyan said.

Having a large sample size gave scientists greater confidence in their analysis by comparing the ancient grape seeds with modern grapes. Weathering makes it difficult to find perfectly-preserved seeds, but the cave’s natural features gave them a perfect shelter.

The grape stems discovered in the 6,100-year-old cave show very close genetic relationships to those that are still growing in monastery vineyards today. In fact, the same grapes that were used in red wine production today were found in the Armenian cave, collating ancient and modern times.

Aside from its historical significance, there are also some modern benefits from this finding, such as disease resistance.

Dr. Summaira Riaz, a researcher in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis, worked with grapevine samples from Armenia in Dr. Andy Walker’s lab.

“We look for natural sources of resistance to different pests and disease to carry out conventional breeding by making crosses of resistance and susceptible varieties,” Riaz said. “This allow us to understand the genetics of resistance and develop molecular tools to speed up breeding process.”

The common grapevine, Vitis vinifera, has over 5,000 different varieties around the world. The UC Davis study used 45 samples of Vitis vinifera from Armenia to analyze the grapevines’ resilient properties. Walker’s lab focuses on breeding disease-resistant grapes to reduce the use of insecticides and fungicides in vineyards.

“We worked with plant tissue and extracted DNA to carry out DNA fingerprinting, and testing of plants in the field and lab for powdery mildew resistance,” Riaz said.

The research showed that the cultivated grapevines are resistant to mildew.

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