Cabernet Sauvignon’s Long Memory Revealed

UC Davis Study Finds Wine Grape Still Carries a Molecular Memory of Its Ancestry After 400 Years November 18, 2025 — About 400 years ago, a cross between cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc gave birth to cabernet sauvignon. Today, cabernet sauvignon is the world’s most-planted wine grape, dominating vineyards from Napa to Bordeaux. New research from the University of California, Davis, reveals that the grape still carries a kind of gene memory of its parents. Unlike annual crops such as corn or wheat, grapevines are propagated from cuttings, not seeds. Each new vine is essentially a clone of its ancestor. That means every cabernet sauvignon vine grown today is genetically nearly identical to the original 17th-century plant. “When you think about it, it’s unusual compared to most crops, which are continuously improved through breeding,” said Professor Dario Cantù, of the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology. “We still cultivate plant material selected hundreds of years ago ...