Most of the world’s wine grapes, like Chardonnay, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc, come from Vitis vinifera, a species prized for fruit quality but highly vulnerable to cold, pests, and disease. Assistant Professor Soon Li Teh of the University of Minnesota is developing new cold-hardy cultivars by combining traditional breeding with DNA technology—essentially 23andMe for grapes. His work taps into the resilience of native American species to improve winter survival and disease resistance. But it’s no quick fix: the process from initial cross to cultivar release takes 18 to 25 years.
Resources:
- 135: Cold Hardiness of Grapevines
- 155: Sustainable Vineyard Management Across Different Climates
- 217: Combating Climate Chaos with Adaptive Winegrape Varieties
- Grape Breeding and Enology project website
- Grape breeding at the University of Minnesota
- Soon Li The, LinkedIn
- Soon Li Teh, University of Minnesota
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