Where does your wine really come from? Swiss botanist and grape geneticist Dr. José Vouillamoz, co-author of the James Beard Award–winning Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, joins host Noah Tetzner to explain how DNA profiling reveals the hidden family trees behind the grapes in your glass.

José explains in plain English how scientists identify a grape's parents, including the discovery that Cabernet Sauvignon is the offspring of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. He shares why every traditional grape variety began as a chance seedling in someone's vineyard, how his research with the late archaeologist Patrick McGovern pointed to southeastern Anatolia as a cradle of grapevine domestication, and why tiny Switzerland grows more than 300 grape varieties. He also confesses to the first wine that ever caught his attention, a 1972 Malvoisie he and his friends swiped from a cellar at age 15, and explains why he has no patience for "grape patriotism."

In this episode:

- How does grape DNA profiling work?

- Who are Cabernet Sauvignon's parents?

- Why is every grape variety "man-made"?

- Where was the grapevine first domesticated?

- Why does Switzerland have so many native grape varieties?

José's new English edition of Swiss Grapes and his short book Grape Varieties: Their Future, published by the International Wine & Food Society, are both due out November 1, 2026.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and introduction

01:22 From an obscure wildflower to grape DNA: how José found his calling

04:36 How grape DNA profiling works, in plain English

08:49 Why every grape variety is "man-made"

12:14 Wine Grapes and why no grape has a birth certificate

14:19 Searching for the birthplace of wine with Patrick McGovern

17:56 Why tiny Switzerland has so many grape varieties

21:39 The first bottle he paid attention to, and a confession

23:41 One region for life

24:45 Why "grape patriotism" misses the point

26:26 Where to find José's work and his two new books

Links and resources:

José Vouillamoz's website: https://josevouillamoz.com/

José on Substack (home of his Grape DNA Detective series): https://josevouillamoz.substack.com/

Wine Grapes and José's other books (his shop): https://josevouillamoz.com/shop/

Grape DNA profiling service: https://josevouillamoz.com/service/grape-dna-profiling/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josevouillamoz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Jos%C3%A9-Vouillamoz-100010660813923/

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Connect with the host: noah@profitwithpodcasting.com