Mexican Scientific Breakthrough Determines Wine’s ‘Footprint’

Jose Herbert, Scientific Representative of Mexico, the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) reported that, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), a method was developed to detect the “footprint” of wine through magnetic resonance, which will make it possible to determine genetic characteristics of different wines and to protect their origin.

The footprint of the wine is a metabolic profile that determines the amount of chemicals present throughout the production process, stemming from the wine’s grapes, geographical origin and fermentation processes. Herbert highlighted that this method can identify different geographical origins of wine, as well as verify varieties. In addition, it offers the possibility to evaluate the effects of climate change on vineyards, which will generate a mitigation strategy, adaptation measures and ensure plants can be rescued on time.

Herbert explained that this complex technique is still being tested further with other methods focusing on degradation parameters, amino acids and sugars, through algorithms based on artificial intelligence created in Mexico.

According to SADER, Mexico has 15 wine-producing states, with a total of 6,448ha of wine grapes planted, the leading areas being Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California Norte, Valle de Parras in Coahuila, Queretaro and Aguascalientes. Within the country, five out of 10 bottles of wine consumed were created within Mexico.

The state of Baja California, host to the 43rd World Vine and Wine Congress, has a record 4,533ha planted in the valleys of Tanama, San Valentin, Las Palmas, Guadalupe, Ojos Negros, La Crane, Santo Tomas and San Vicente, where 170 vine producers and 260 wine projects can be found. In the state, more than 40 varieties of wine are produced, including Aglianico, Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Carmenere, Cinsault, Chenin Blanc, Colombard, Crimson, Dolcetto, French Colombard Grenache, Italiana, Malbec, Marsanne, Merlot, Misión and Montepulciano.

Herbert stressed that these scientific advances will enable work on the traceability of glyphosate in corn production, too.