The Nature website reports that a grape genome has been decoded:

A French-led team of geneticists has cemented the country's reputation as the world's wine capital — by compiling the complete genetic code of a Pinot Noir grape. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they have discovered that the species has a large repertoire of genes that produce compounds known to give complex flavours to fruit.

The article makes some interesting points about how grapes evolved from simpler things like wheat and rice around 250 million years ago. (This brings to mind the story about Winston Churchill, who when asked at a dinner party what he thought of the fact that we all evolved from worms, said, "We may all be worms, madam, but I do believe I am a glow worm.")

The article also raises some important questions about that beverage we all love, including: will genetically altered grapes become the ruin of wine? My gut reaction is that the genetically altered wine may introduce some interesting flavors, but it will never compare to the original. The best I can hope for is that wine from genetically altered grapes may make us appreciate the old stuff: knowing there are modern alternatives, while savoring the original, may help us cherish wine as we know it even more.