Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

The parentage of a classic wine grape, Cabernet Sauvignon

Nature Genetics volume 16, pages 84–87 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

The world's great wines are produced from a relatively small number of classic European cultivars of Vitis vinifera L Most are thought to be centuries old and their origins have long been the subject of speculation1,2. Among the most prominent of these cultivars is Cabernet Sauvignon, described as “the world's most renowned grape variety for the production of fine red wine”3. Although now grown in many countries, Cabernet Sauvignon derives its fame from its long association with the Bordeaux region of France, where it has been grown at least since the 17th century4. We present microsatellite DNA evidence for the hypothesis that Cabernet Sauvignon is the progeny of two other Bordeaux cultivars, Cabernet franc and Sauvignon blanc. Likelihood ratios support this hypothesis to a very high degree of probability. A close relationship between Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet franc has been suspected but the genetic contribution of Sauvignon blanc, despite its similar name, is a surprise.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Levadoux, L. Les populations sauvages et cultivées de Vitis vinifera L. Annales de I'Amélioration des Plantes 6, 59–118 (1956).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bouquet, A. Origine et évolution de l'encépagement francais à travers les siécles. Le progress agricole et viticole 99, 110–121 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Robinson, J. The Oxford Companion to Wine.(Oxford University Press, Oxford,1994).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Viala, P. & Vermorel, V. Ampélographie, Tome II.(Masson, Paris,1901).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Thomas, M.R. & Scott, N.S. Microsatellite repeats in grapevine reveal DNA polymorphisms when analysed as sequence-tagged sites (STSs). Theor. Appl.Genet. 86, 985–990 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Bowers, J.E., Dangl, G.S.,& Meredith, C.P. Isolation and characterization of new polymorphic simple sequence repeat loci in grape (Vitis vinifera L). Genome 39, 628–633 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Thomas, M.R., Cain, P. & Scott, N.S. DNA typing of grapevines: A universal methodology and database for describing cultivars and evaluating genetic relatedness. Plant Mol. Biol. 25, 939–949 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Weir, B.S. Genetic Data Analysis II. (Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland,Massachusetts,1996).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Hagelberg, E., Gray, I.C. & Jeffreys, A.J. Identification of the skeletal remains of amurder victim by DNA analysis. Nature 352, 427–429 (1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Bowers, J.E., Sandman, E.B. & Meredith, C.P. DNA fingerprint characterization of some California winegrape cultivars. Amer. J. Enol. Vitic. 44, 266–274 (1993).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Bowers, J.E. DNA fingerprinting analysis of some winegrape cultivars. M.S. thesis.(University of California, Davis,1993).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Bourquin, J.C., Sonko, A., Otten, L. & Walter, B. Restriction fragment length polymorphism and molecular taxonomy inVitis vinifera L. Theoret. Appl. Genet 87, 431–438 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Wolfe, W.H. Identification of grape varieties by isozyme banding patterns. Amer. J. Enol. Vitic. 27, 68–73 (1976).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Parfitt, D.E. & Arulsekar, S. Inheritance and isozyme diversity for GPI and PGM among grape cultivars. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 114, 486–491 (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Hudson, T.J. et al. Isolation and chromosomal assignment of 100 highly informative human simple sequence repeat polymorphisms. Genomics 13, 622–629 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Galet, P. Cépages et Vignobles de France. Tome II. L'ampélographie Francaise. (Imprimerie Charles Dehan, Montpellier, France,1990).

  17. Sturtevant, A.M. A History of Genetics.(Harper and Row, New York,1965).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Rives, M. Bases gènètiques de la sélection clonale chez la vigne. Ann. Amelior. Plantes 11, 337–348 (1961).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, California, 95616, USA

    John E. Bowers & Carole P. Meredith

Authors
  1. John E. Bowers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carole P. Meredith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carole P. Meredith.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bowers, J., Meredith, C. The parentage of a classic wine grape, Cabernet Sauvignon. Nat Genet 16, 84–87 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng0597-84

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng0597-84

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing