The Oldest Form of Biotechnology

The art and science of winemaking: from 6000 BCE to today

I’m sitting down to write my weekly blog post with a three-quarters-full glass of Bordeaux in hand. It’s become my favorite weekly ritual: Monday nights devoted to writing and drinking red wine. It’s a nice way to ease into the workweek. A little bit of wine after a long workday helps me settle into the relaxed mood of the evening. It lets me tap into the playful right-brain creativity once the logical brain gives up its reigns. It gives writing a slightly whimsical perspective, a new way of looking at old things—through a slightly distorted lens of a fingerprint-stained glass.

As I’m sitting here brainstorming what biotech topic I should cover in this week’s blog, I’m struck by a sudden realization: that topic is right in front of my eyes. Every week I search for the latest biotech advance or an interesting application. Yet, here, in front of my eyes, is the oldest biotechnology known to man. Glistening in the soft evening light is a lightly viscous, just barely transparent, deep-red liquid with mind-altering and mood-boosting effects, produced with the help of millennia-old biotechnology.

The art of winemaking

Humans have been making wine for thousands of years. The Greeks are often credited with the invention of wine, although the oldest evidence of the fermented grape drink from around 6000 BCE was actually found in today's Georgia. Thousands of years before we discovered microbes, people knew that if you leave sweet fruit such as grapes out, they will turn into a buzzy nectar of the gods. Surely, neither the Greeks nor the Georgians knew what exactly was causing this magical transformation, but they had the process down, no doubt about that.

The real winemakers, however, are yeast. They are the hardworking microbes that eat the sugar in the grape juice and produce the alcohol and carbon dioxide (which makes champagne delightfully bubbly). There is more to the fermentation process though: the yeast also produces succinic, lactic, and malic acids, as well as more complex “secondary metabolism” molecules that impart the complex flavor profiles we associate with distinct varieties of wine. After their job is done, the dead yeast is allowed to sit at the bottom of the vat, slowly breaking down and releasing amino acids and other molecules into the wine—a process called “fining”.

Yeast is naturally found on grapes—a whiteish coating that you can sometimes see on the berries. However, wild yeast fermentation can produce inconsistent results and off-flavors, which is why today most wineries add cultured yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to make the wine. The wild yeast, however, still plays an important part in fermentation by adding its unique twist to the different varieties of wine, like rose-like aromas in Moscato and Barolo.

The unique fingerprint of wines

"Wine is sunlight, held together by water." This quote is attributed to Galileo Galilei, which is remarkable because there was no knowledge of photosynthesis back in his time. If you think about it, it’s true: the grapes acquire their sweetness by converting light energy into chemical energy, by connecting the carbon atoms from the air’s CO2 into sugar molecules and other carbohydrates.

Without grapes, there is no wine. This is why so many wines are simply named after the grape variety they are made from, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Grenache, Malbec, or Syrah. Yet others carry the stamp of where they are made: Rioja, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Barolo, Barbera, Chianti, or Valpolicella—these names roll off the tongue with the same ease their namesake liquids roll down it. 

What makes each variety of wine unique is the intricate interplay of the grape varieties, the strains of yeast that ferment them, and the conditions under which the wine is developed. Some wines have their unique homes because the climate, the soil, and the aging conditions of their origin cannot be replicated anywhere. Others, like Pinot Noir, have made themselves quite at home in the New World. Malbec, for example, originated in France but found its glory in Argentina where it now boasts the highest antioxidant content due to its high-altitude cultivation environment.

If you are a wine connoisseur, you will also be familiar with the term terroir: the unique characteristics of the land where the wine is grown, its climate, soil, altitude, and other factors that create unique fine wines. Although some of these regions have been producing wines for thousands of years, they are now being threatened by climate change, soil depletion, and other factors. While the winemakers use their knowledge to adjust the processes, scientists are getting involved, too: they are developing plants that are tolerant of higher temperatures and resistant to diseases and engineering the microbiome of the earth to control the pH of the soil.

Modern biotechnology aids the winemaking process in many other ways, for example by controlling the fermentation product profile by adding enzymes at the right time. This excellent article covers all the ways in which biotechnology is transforming the wine industry, including creating wines with higher antioxidant properties, lower alcohol, and even unusual flavors like blueberry or cherry.

However, if you asked a wine connoisseur, they would probably tell you that nothing compares to the artisanal processes that have been preserved for hundreds of years.

There is no doubt that winemaking is an art. But it is also a science: there are a lot of things that can go wrong, and it requires an experienced person to create a great wine. You can argue that the hands-on experience and centuries-old knowledge are more important than the technological advances and precision control that modern biotechnology offers. But where does that distinction lie? How does the craft of a winemaker who controls the temperature, the sugar content, and the timing of the fermentation differ from that of a fermentation scientist?

Many people I talk to express some degree of apprehension about biotechnology—this strange new field that deals with changing the DNA of living beings. But biotechnology has been here all along. It’s an inevitable product of us living in our biological world, the interplay between nature’s biological diversity and human ingenuity. For thousands of years, we have been using nature’s gifts to create something cool out of them—like turning grapes into wine. In the same way, biotechnology today aims to come up with creative and sustainable solutions to ensure we can keep enjoying great wines.

Cheers to that!