Williamsburg, Va. -- In an addendum to his book,
Desert Island Wine, Miles Lambert-Gócs embarks on a journey that follows the Balisca vine from first- century Greece to Albania and ultimately, Western Europe.
Since the book was published in September 2007, the chapter has proven more controversial with members of the agricultural academic community than Lambert-Gócs could have anticipated. The objections are surprising, Lambert-Gócs said, because it was never his intention to dispute other researchers' theories on the origins of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Former UC Davis geneticist Carole Meredith, for example, used DNA typing to identify the parentage of
Vitis vinifera including Cabernet Sauvignon. In a 1997 story printed in
Chemical & Engineering News, Meredith and James Bowers wrote that the cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc "could have occurred no later than the 17th century," but the foundation for Lambert-Gócs' theory of its origins is based on first-century accounts written by Pliny.
PHOTO: Todd Gilligan
Sonoma, Calif. -- The discovery of two Light Brown Apple Moths (LBAM) prompted the quarantine of 15-square-miles including prime vineyard acreage in Sonoma Valley this week. Growers in the quarantine zone face the prospect of not being able to deliver their fruit out of the zone for crushing later this year without state inspection.
