DNA analysis reveals an unexpected link between Ethiopian grapevines and the Mediterranean

Even a grape geneticist can still be taken by surprise. The renowned Swiss ampelographer and grape geneticist José Vouillamoz, co-author of the standard work Wine Grapes, recently shared a study on social media that was a real eye-opener for him: traditional grapevines in Ethiopia appear to have distinctive genetic links with grape varieties from the Mediterranean region.
Text: Ingrid Larmoyeur (Wine Institute) | Image: Unsplash

When you think of Ethiopia, you probably think of coffee rather than wine. Yet researchers found dozens of traditional vines in the Tigray highlands – not in vineyards, but near houses, in villages and near churches. It was already known that grapes have been grown in Ethiopia for a very long time. Archaeological finds even show that grapes were already being cultivated in the ancient Kingdom of Aksum some 2,000 years ago.

DNA testing

But this is where it really gets interesting. DNA analysis of a local grapevine from Rubaksa shows that it does not match any known grape varieties in the international databases used, but does show a genetic relationship with grape varieties from the Mediterranean region. Research into the shape of the grape seeds also points to Cyprus, Crete and Italy, amongst other places.

The researchers therefore believe that these local vines may be descended from grapes that may have been brought to Ethiopia from the eastern Mediterranean via ancient trade routes as far back as the time of the Aksumite Empire. Generations of locals have subsequently preserved and propagated them.

So, it’s not a 2,000-year-old vine, but it may well be a living genetic legacy of nearly 2,000 years of wine-growing history.

And that is precisely what makes the discovery so special. Not that vines grow in Ethiopia, but the new evidence that some of those local vines may have a genetic link to the Mediterranean wine-growing world of many centuries ago.

No wonder Vouillamoz wrote: “Ethiopia has just become one of them”– one of those places that still manage to surprise even him.

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