An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Nichole Dishman — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:46:34 GMT

Thank you Matt.

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Augie Kersting — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:15:10 GMT

My question was, if Durif is a synonym for Petite Sirah, as in they are the same grape, and this is what Dr. Meredith discovered via isozome "fingerprinting", then how could she be simultaneously discovering that 2 of the 7 vines at Davis are Durif, and not Petite Sirah?- As the note in the new timeline is Sotheby's suggests. It seemed to me it had to be inaccurate, and as it's a new section in a huge reference book that is unsurprising, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something, as synonyms for grape varietals can be extremely confusing. The link was very helpful though!

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Admin User — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:27:28 GMT

Thomas, I'm not sure I totally understand your question. Keep in mind that what you may take as common fact--Petite Sirah is Durif--was really just speculation until Dr. Meredith came along. That is what makes her work, and the work of others in the field, so groundbreaking.

The problem with Petite Sirah is that the grape name was applied in California to a number of different grapes. Dr. Meredith and her team conclusively proved via DNA markers that most Petite Sirah in the state was genetically identical to Durif, but that some of what was called Petite Sirah was actually Peloursin.

This may shed some light on the subject for you: www.psiloveyou.org/.../about-petite-sirah

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Admin User — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:15:30 GMT

Nicole,

I passed your question along to Dr. Meredith, and she had the following response:

"I think that terroir includes all the physical aspects of a vineyard site (including high and low temperature, daylength, light intensity, fog, wind, soil structure, soil composition, soil depth, slope, aspect, etc.). They all contribute to the ultimate composition of the fruit. Of these, temperature is the most significant factor. Cool temperatures can result in fantastic flavor development but there may not be enough heat to fully ripen the fruit. High temperatures can result in lots of sugar but not much flavor and can also lead to raisining and sunburn. Of the soil factors, the structure of the soil (e.g., proportions of sand, gravel, clay, etc.) is the most significant because that determines how much water the soil can hold and thus how much is available to the vine. Vines that get too much water produce large flavorless grapes and also produce excessive foliage that shades the fruit and results in vegetative flavors. Vines that get too little water can produce too little foliage so they can’t produce enough sugar to ripen the fruit and the over-exposed fruit can also get sunburned.

In my vineyard, the two most important physical factors are the afternoon temperature during the summer and our shallow mountain soil. Our afternoon temperature is lower than the temperature in the Napa Valley below us because we are bathed by cool air coming through the Golden Gate and up the canyon through which we can see the bay. And our shallow soil (less than 2 feet) cannot hold much water, so the vines never get overly vigorous and the berries are always small. It’s ancient soil that’s has been depleted of nutrients (as opposed to the deep, rich alluvial soil on the valley floor), so that also restrains the growth of the vines. Self-managing vines – we don’t have to do much summer hedging or green harvesting."

--Carole Meredith

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Augie Kersting — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:43:29 GMT

While reading the new "Chronology of Wine" in Sotheby's 5th Edition - 1997: Professor Carole Meredith uses DNA "fingerprinting" to determine that only four of the seven Petite Sirah vines in the UC Davis collection are in fact Petite Sirah. Two are Durif and one is pure Syrah." I can no where find anything that indicates Durif as a separate grape from Petite Sirah including the ABC's of grape varietals in the same book, which merely mentions that Durif is sometimes used as a synonym for Mourvedre (saying Durif the primary name for Mouvedre, although under the listing for Mourvedre, Monastrell is mentioned as the primary name for that grape). Perhaps some light can be shed?

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Nichole Dishman — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:08:28 GMT

Dr. Meredith, In the intro to winemaking class at Davis extension you seemed to narrow the concept of terroir down to primarily drainage and climate. Have you found other compelling factors in working with your Mt. Veeder vineyard property? Thank you for taking the time for this interview and thanks to the guild!

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Riley Davis — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:07:50 GMT

Matt, thanks for recommending this article. A lot of superb insight that will effect the future of this industry. Also, thanks Geoff and Dr. Meredith.

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

William Davis — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:44:05 GMT

Matt and Geoff,

Fantastic article. Would this interview be available in a podcast format?

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Angela Cahill — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:44:13 GMT

Opened my last 2002 Syrah this past weekend - heavenly!

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Michael Baker — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:54:16 GMT

Excellent piece - fascinating material - thank you.

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Joshua Orr — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:35:05 GMT

Excellent article. Truly interesting stuff they are into at UC Davis. Thanks to all involved.

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Jackson Rohrbaugh — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:43:20 GMT

I learned a ton reading this post. Thank you Dr. Meridith! I look forward to trying Mondeuse someday.

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Jamie Goode — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:07:23 GMT

brilliant interview - thanks for all your insight Carole, and Geoff and Matt for asking such good questions.

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Carlos Cherubin — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:59:36 GMT

Great piece, very insightful and informative. I particularly liked the discussion about winemaking being simple so long as it is sanitary. I see that in the small world of our local Italian immigrant community where many older folks still make home wine using mediocre fruit brought from the west coast. Some, the messy ones, make awful wine; a few, the clean and precise ones, with exactly the same mediocre fruit, actually make wine that is very drinkable.

RE: An Interview with Dr. Carole Meredith

Evan Vallee — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:28:19 GMT

Bravo! Very Insightful! Thank You all!