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w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m M a r - A p r 2 014 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 1 3 UC Davis researchers have discovered that microbial terroir – distinct patterns in the fungal and bacterial communities that live on the surface of wine grapes – can be used to pinpoint the ori- gin of grapes to a specific site within a vineyard. Professor David Mills, a microbiologist in the departments of Viticulture & Enology and Food Science & Technology at UC Davis, co- authored the study, "Microbial biogeography of wine grapes is conditioned by cultivar, vintage, and climate," with graduate student Nicholas Bokulich. According to Mills, "The technology we're using is a way of looking at DNA foren- sically and determining all of the microbes that are present in both the living and dead cells of a grape must sample." The technique is called short-amplicon sequencing, and it amplifies a small segment of ribosomal DNA to map the microbial terroir of the sample and then compares that map against a database to find a match. "This tells us two things: which microbes are there and the relative abundance of the p o p u l a t i o n , " said Mills, who has co-authored nine studies dur- ing the last two y e a r s s e q u e n c - ing the microbial terroir of every- t h i n g f r o m t h e U C D a v i s w i n - e r y, t o a n a r t i - sanal dairy, to the cleanliness of a n e o n a t a l i n t e n - sive care unit. In t h e s e s t u d i e s , Mills said, he's n o t l o o k i n g f o r s p e c i f i c p a t h o - g e n s b u t f o r a holistic view of how microbes are flowing through a room. Mills and Bokulich have partnered with John Thorngate of Constellation Brands Inc. and Paul Richardson of MicroTrek Inc., a laboratory founded to provide microbial mapping services. "The key to MicroTrek's technology is that you can run hundreds or thousands of samples in a day," Mills said. In the past, sequencing required the lion's share of time for any study involving genetic code, but Mills cites collect- ing samples, preparing for running the sequence and analyzing the results as the most time-consuming aspects of his studies. "Once we started doing this in the lab, we realized that winer- ies could benefit," he said. In a Napa Valley study, for example, Mills was able to identify musts from different sub-regions, providing winemakers with a foolproof method of authenti- cating the origin of the fruit. Although MicroTrek doesn't evalu- ate individual samples, the cost for sequencing a sample Microbe Mix Points to Grape Origins Professor David Mills of UC Davis is using technology to determine all of the microbes that are present in the cells of grape must samples. NEWS FLASH California Governor Declares Drought Emergency With California facing water shortfalls, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. proclaimed a State of Emergency on Jan. 17. Brown directed state officials to assist farmers and communities economically impacted by dry conditions and to ensure the state can respond to potential drink- ing water shortages. The proclamation also gives state water officials more flexibility to manage water supply under drought conditions. California's rivers and reservoirs are currently below record lows, and the snowpack's statewide water content is about 20% of normal average for this time of year. Daniel Cohn Appointed B.R. Cohn CEO Daniel Cohn, son of B.R. Cohn Winery founder Bruce Cohn, has been appointed as CEO of the 40-year-old Sonoma Valley winery. Dan Cohn will share ownership of the winery with his father. Colorado Wine Industry's Economic Contribution Triples A new study commissioned by the Colorado Wine Industry Devel- opment Board (CWIDB) shows that the Colorado wine industry's economic contribution has more than tripled to more than $144 million since a similar study was conducted in 2005. The study also found that Colorado's wineries create 460 jobs directly through sales and expenditures, and that the industry has grown 27% in volume and 65% in value since 2005. Sonoma County to Become 100% Sustainable The Sonoma County Winegrape Commission, also known as Sonoma County Winegrowers (SCW), announced on Jan. 15 that Sonoma County is committed to becoming the nation's first 100% sus- tainable wine region through a three-phase program to be completed within the next five years. For more industry news briefs, visit the News Flash page on V&WM's website: http://www.vwmmedia.com/magazine/web-exclusive1.asp. DEBORAH PARKER WONG