Author: Andrew Pollack
Publication: The New York Times
Date: Saturday, July 14, 2001

Some of the world`s most tradition-minded manufacturers are confronting one of its most modern technologies: Genetic engineering is coming to the wine business.

Scientists are working on genetically modified grapevines that are resistant to disease, and genetically altered yeast to improve fermentation.

Researchers at the University of Florida, for instance, backed in part by grape growers in that state, announced in May that they had patented a way to implant a silkworm gene into grapevines to make the vines resistant to Pierce`s disease, a blight currently menacing vineyards in California.

But many winemakers are aghast, fearing that while such vines might save their grapes, they would wipe out their sales and the mystique of their product.

They say consumers, particularly in wine-loving Europe, would reject such wine as they now shun other genetically modified foods. And would wines made from the grapes containing foreign genes retain their varietal purity?

``I think it`s very likely for someone to say, `This isn`t genuine cabernet sauvignon,``` said Peter Poole, president of the Mount Palomar Winery in Temecula, southeast of Los Angeles.

Consumers will not find genetically modified wines in their local stores for at least several years. But the wine world is already starting to debate the issue.

In France, which produces 20 percent of the world`s wine and many of its finest vintages, the reaction has been less than positive. A group of winemakers in the Burgundy region has called for a 10-year moratorium on the use of genetically modified vines and yeast. The campaign is now spreading to winemakers in the rest of France and around the world.

But in the United States, there is more receptivity. Several wine trade groups met in San Francisco last month to develop an industry position that executives say will support research on genetic engineering while assuring consumers that no new technology will be used until proven safe.

``We don`t want to chop off the science,`` said Terry Lee, vice president for research and development at E.&J. Gallo Winery, the largest American winemaker.

While Gallo is not yet doing genetic engineering, he said, ``the potential is just mind-boggling.``

Many makers of less rarefied wines do not seem to share the fears of the high-end makers about whether genetic engineering might subtly change things like the bouquet or ``mouthfeel`` of their product. They are much more focused on protecting their vines and increasing output.

Florida vineyards are so hurt by Pierce`s disease that they cannot even grow the typical varieties used in high-end French and California wines.

``We`ve been supporting research so we can actually grow more vines than we can right now,`` said Robert Paulish, president of the Florida Grape Growers Association.

Research is proceeding not only in the United States but also in Germany, Italy, Australia, Israel, South Africa, Chile and, yes, even France.

Most of the work on vines is directed at making them resistant to diseases rather than changing the fruit. Besides increasing grape output, disease-resistant vines should require fewer pesticides, scientists say.

But vines take several years to produce their first fruit and are expected to last in the field for 25 years or more, so development and testing will take time.

The University of Florida vines and others are not expected to be ready for commercial use for at least five to 10 years.

Because wine is as much about romance as chemistry, the biggest obstacles to genetic engineering are cultural. Many winemakers fear that wine`s image will be damaged and that engineered vines or yeast could lead to too much uniformity in wine.

Such feelings seem particularly strong among the French.

``We are not in a business where we make Coca-Cola,`` said Francois Cordesse, a French winemaker now working in the Sonoma Valley of California. The Burgundy winemakers opposed to genetic engineering say the technology is a threat to terroir, the concept, widely embraced in France, that particluar types of grapes are appropriate only for certain locations.

Moet Chandon, the big Champagne maker, dropped work on genetically engineered vines in 1999 in response to presssure from the public and its peers and tore out the altered vines.

But some winemakers dismiss such concerns. ``You`re going to change one gene and it`s going to vastly change the wine?`` says Dane Petersen, president of Silver Oak Vineyards in Geyserville, California. ``I don`t think so.``

The wine industry, after all, has long embraced other technology. It has been decades since people stomped on grapes with bare feet. Big wineries resemble small refineries, with fermentation in steel tanks under computer control and modern chemical laboratories.

Moreover, many grapevines are already genetic amalgamations - the top part, where the grapes are, is genetically different from the rootstock to which it has been grafted. Many French vines use disease-resistant rootstock that originated in the United States.

Some grape growers and winemakers say the real concern is not tradition but consumer opposition to genetic engineering.

``As we say in French, `Over my dead body,``` said Rene Averseng, owner of Du Vin, a wine shop in West Hollywood. He said organic wines were becoming popular now, a sign that customers will reject genetically modified products.

Mr. Petersen of Silver Oak Vineyards said the French might be more supportive of such work if they were threatened by Pierce`s disease.

The bacterial infection has long been present in California, but it struck with a new ferocity two years ago because of the appearance in southern California of the glassy winged sharpshooter, an insect that spreads the bacteria more quickly than other carriers.

In Temecula, ground zero for the outbreak, some vineyards lost nearly half of their vines. ``Everything just wilted and browned,`` said Mr. Poole of the Mount Palomar Winery there. ``We were really blindsided.`` State officials are now scrambling to keep the sharpshooter out of the famous Napa and Sonoma regions up north.

To produce resistant vines, Dennis Gray, a professor of developmental biology at the University of Florida in Apopka, implanted an artificial version of a silkworm gene.

Developed by Demegen, the Pittsburgh-based biopharmaceutical company, the gene produces a protein that kills bacteria. But years of testing will still be needed to certify that the vines are truly resistant and produce acceptable grapes.

Only a few wineries are working on genetic modification themselves. Most lack the know-how, and even the big ones seem to fear consumer reaction.

The most active corporate participant appears to be UST Inc., the largest manufacturer of smokeless tobacco, which also owns wineries such as Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Crest in Washington state. ProfiGen, a UST subsidiary, has the license to commercialize the University of Florida work.

Other UST subsidiaries called AgriVitis and GenApps have obtained more than 10 permits between them for field trials of vines genetically modified to resist various diseases.