Abstract
A crucial aspect of viticulture is finally unveiled as the historical dynamics of its agrobiodiversity are described in the Champagne region for the first time. Outline analyses were carried out to compare the morphology of archaeological grape seeds from Troyes and Reims (first c. AD to fifteenth c. AD) with that of a reference collection of modern seeds, including wild vines and traditional grape varieties, believed to be ancient and characteristic of the French vine heritage. This allows us to document the chronological dynamics of the use of the wild Vitis type and of the diversity of the varieties used, based on morphological disparity. After showing the existence of morphological types corresponding to geographical groups, we highlight a geochronological dynamic. Our results show that the wild type is used throughout the series, up to the Middle Ages. In addition, domestic forms, morphologically related to southern varietal groups, are very early involved in the Champagne grape agrodiversity. The groups corresponding to the typical grape varieties of today do not appear until the second millennium. These previously unsuspected dynamics are discussed in light of the social, societal and climatic changes documented for the period.
Highlights
According to archaeological and archaeobiological data, six centuries separate the development of viticulture in Mediterranean France from the advent of Champagne vineyards, which are famous worldwide
Century AD, evidence of grape seeds multiplied in northern Gaul
What can these pips tell us about the grapes used to make wine? Was there a great diversity of varieties? If so, where did they come from? Is there a temporal dynamic? If so, does it reflect anthropogenic and environmental events?
Summary
According to archaeological and archaeobiological data, six centuries separate the development of viticulture in Mediterranean France from the advent of Champagne vineyards, which are famous worldwide. Champagne is sometimes regarded as “the most popular wine in the world, the best well-known, and most frequently imitated”[1] This modern sparkling wine was invented in the seventeenth century yet the winemaking process and the definitive set of varieties used (including “Chardonnay” and several “Pinot”) were only fixed in the eighteenth century[2]. It is a well-known fact that the Phocaeans introduced viticulture in France after the foundation of Marseille, around 600 BC (Fig. 1). Very few is known about the historical agrobiodiversity of the grapevine itself despite the fact that molecular approaches can sometimes be directly applied on archaeological m aterial[12,13,14,15,16]
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