The Pinot noir grape is only the second food crop (rice being the other) to have its entire genetic code laid bare (hat tip Vinography), and is the very first fruit to be decoded.

Exciting news, no? Maybe.

There are plenty of positive things that will happen due to this advance in our collective knowledge, like more effective pest and disease control that is at the same time less invasive (read: better for the environment). And while I personally kinda look forward to the day when I can order up a Pinot vine with a genetic blueprint customized to my specific growing conditions, I can hear the shrieks of anguish from the terroir-istas even now – the dire predictions of homogenization, of catering to particular palates through genetic modification, of the death of the soul of winemaking…

And I already have a headache.

Capozzi Winery