The increasing, unadvertised research and development of GMO in Napa
winemaking is starting to ring alarm bells.
In three Napa Valley Register articles published last week, journalist
Juliane Poirier Locke points to the genetically modified yeasts and
genetically engineered grapevines that are being developed at UC Davis,
Cornell, and other universities around the country?or insinuating themselves
into the winemaking industry in California and elsewhere.



The manipulation of grapevines is not a new concept. Ever since the
phylloxera epidemic of the late 1800s, when most of the vineyards in Europe
were destroyed, winemakers worked to hybridize or develop resistant
rootstocks to make the vines stronger and disease-resistant. But today?s
engineering is much more high-tech: Geneticists are using genes from pears,
peas, herb amaranth, synthetic material, and even African clawed frogs to
create disease-resistant grapevines.



Although genetically engineered vines and fruit are still in the R&D
phase, genetically modified yeasts have hit the market. The use of added
yeasts isn?t novel?most wines are now made with a wide range of commercial
yeasts. But two new yeasts on the market?ML01 and ECMo01?haven?t just been
cross-bred, they?ve been genetically engineered to prompt speedier
fermentation and reduce urethane, a suspected carcinogen.



While no local winemakers have admitted to using these yeasts, they?re
not required to, and in a consumer climate so GMO-wary, who would? Locke,
however, cites a 2006 Sacramento Bee article in which a distributor of
yeasts is quoted stating that some GMO-yeast wines from California are
already on the market.



Napa Valley , where Locke?s articles were researched, has a few
outspoken anti-GMO advocates who are meeting regularly to monitor the issue.
PINA, or Preserving the Integrity of Napa?s Agriculture, and the Napa GMO
Stakeholder Group, are lobbying to pass the same kinds of bans on GMOs that
Mendocino and Santa Cruz County have effectuated (a GMO ban in Sonoma County
was rejected in 2005).



Many people believe we can solve our pest problems without the use of
GMOs. ?The history of agriculture shows us that there will always be another
pest,? said Miguel Altieri, a professor of agroecology at UC Berkeley. ?Will
we have to keep re-engineering the vines for each one? The solution is not
in genetic re-engineering but in making our agricultural systems more
resilient.? He believes in a more diverse vineyard, in which insects have
food choices other than the grapevine.



Battles like these are being fought in every sector of the industry,
from wine to vegetables to cheesemaking. Which side of the lobby will
prevail?


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