|  According to Dr. Vouillamoz who was speaking at the World Wine Symposium held at Villa d’Este, Lake Como in Italy last month, had said despite several categories of grapes like Vitis Vinifera and Vitis Labrusca, Vitis Liparia etc., over 99% of the grapes used in wine are in the Vitis Vinifera category which has 8,000-10,000 varieties, many of them still unknown. Only a small number of genetic possibilities have been explored outside the vitis vinifera, he added.
One of the fascinating disclosures was about Pinot Noir being the great grand parent of Syrah which is spicy because of the Dureza variety – a brother of Teroldego; all of them related to Pinot. Magdeleine Noir des Charentes and Cabernet Franc were the parents of Merlot. The fact that Cote Rotie uses about 20% Viognier which is a white grape with the red Syrah is explained by the fact that they belong to the same family. For details, read an Article in delWine
Where do all these exotic varieties grow if some of them are believed to be extinct? One such important site is called Domain de Vassal. It’s located in the town of Marseillan, between Agde and Sète,, on a spit of sand between the Mediterranean Sea and the Etang de Thau (See map)
The Ampelographic collection was reportedly created in 1876 at the School of Agriculture, Montpellier (now National School of Agronomy Montpellier and Montpellier sup'Agro) to maintain vine varieties then threatened by phylloxera and samples received from all continents. The reduced surface and the poor health status of specimens made one Professor Jean Branas transfer the collection to Domaine de Vassal in 1949-1950.
The collection, reportedly by Wikipedia, includes 2300 varieties of Vitis Vinifera, 800 varieties of inter-specific Métis, 230 varieties of rootstock or 28 species of wild vines. Over two thousand recent varieties (varieties of mixed race, hybrid) are also grown. The varieties are enriched every year with new introduction.
Varieties that are no longer used in the vineyard are kept in collection. (5 strains per copy) The collection serves as the conservatory. Mentioned in the article in delWine, a grape almost extinct is the Black Magdeleine Charentes Noir, proved to be a relative of Merlot Noir and Cot Noir, two varieties with worldwide distribution of major importance.
Thus, this collection is a huge data bank for creating new varieties. Indeed, the reasons for no grape shortage is to make more tolerant varieties, better adapted to climate warming (tolerance to heat and drought, synthesis of sugars and balanced acids) Grape growth has been adopted to changes in consumer tastes. Reportedly, this greatest collection of vines in the world is an international living heritage. Known as Domaine de Vassal, the collection is located on 19 hA of land with a 400 m 2 greenhouse, where 10 people work for the maintenance and development of the collection.
The vines can set root in the coastal sand here, protecting them from contamination by phylloxera. Many of the old, forgotten varieties can flourish alongside new species of world famous ones at Domaine de Vassal.
Due to budgetary constraints, the INRA is exploring the idea of moving the sanctuary. As the body would readily admit, the risks associated with such a move are considerable. Any hasty decision in selecting another location, lack of funds, reduced involvement of researchers, loss of diversity, reduction of the scope of the vine collection can affect the future of these vines and the ‘Louvre of Vines’.
A group of wine lovers (# winelovers) has taken on the onerous task of running a campaign of concerned wine connoisseurs who enjoy the sight of landscapes shaped by vineyards, the work of wine growers and producers and who love the diversity in wine, to support the work done by Domain de Vassal and would like them to sign a petition that might help preserve the collection through a partnership between the INRA and a private foundation-to be known as Ampelographic Heritage Foundation.
Inspired by one of our readers Carlos Schölderle and the winehub.com, delWine supports the cause of #winelovers and requests the readers to go to the following site and sign the petition
http://www.petitions24.net/defense_vassal
Who knows you may have helped a wonderful cause of global vine importance by signing the petition? (go to the bottom of the page)
Subhash Arora
Tags: France, Domain de Vassal, Dr. Vouillamoz, World Wine Symposium, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Merlot, Professor Jean Branas, Ampelographic Heritage Foundation |