🍷 Ampelographer

An ampelographer is a scientist who tells grape varieties apart by the plant's features. The science is called ampelography. In the past a variety was identified by eye: leaf, shoot, berry, bunch. Today DNA analysis is added to the inspection, and the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) advises describing a variety both ways.

Under the OIV protocol of 2019 the DNA profile is taken with at least nine reference microsatellite markers. The ampelographic description rests on a list of characters: leaf shape, number of lobes, the sinus at the leaf stalk, bunch shape, skin colour, time of bud burst and start of ripening. The protocol is meant for cases where a variety must be officially recognised and registered.

Neither DNA alone nor the eye alone will do. Plant traits are affected by environment, some varieties look alike, and clones of one variety differ. Real experts are scarce, and the vine has to be adult and studied for at least two years. Microsatellites give much faster and more reliable identification, but ampelography is still needed for description, breeding and conservation.

A lively example is a 2024 study of grapevines in Galicia, Spain. Of 82 accessions, 76 turned out to be different varieties. "Moscatel Rubio" was really Mencía, "Ollo de Sapo" was Borraçal, and Zamarrica was Caíño da Terra. Catalán matched the American Catawba. Earlier, in 2005, a team built a "mean leaf" and a six-marker profile for nine north-west Spanish varieties, and together the methods gave a fuller picture.

An ampelographer and an oenologist work on different material: one identifies the plant, the other works with the wine. For the science, see Ampelography, and for neighbouring trades Professions in the world of wine.