“A 600-year-old grape seed discovered in the toilets of a medieval French hospital is genetically identical to the grapes still used today to produce pinot noir”

“A study tracing the genome of grape seeds found on various archaeological sites has identified this fruit, in the same genetic form, in a medieval 'rubbish pit' in Valenciennes”

“Even though it was clearly consumed, scientists do not yet know whether the inhabitants of 15th-century Valenciennes drank it as juice or wine, or ate it as table grapes”

“Pinot Noir has changed very little over the last 600 years, preserved by winegrowers thanks to 'clonal propagation' techniques such as cuttings”

“Based on 54 grape seeds dating from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages, the study has made it possible not only to sketch out the beginnings of a family tree for different grapes in French vineyards, but also to map the exchange of cuttings around the Mediterranean”

“France's wine trade with the Mediterranean basin is long established. The large number of amphorae that have been unearthed attests to its links with the ancient Greeks and Etruscans”

“DNA analysis of the grape seeds has revealed long-distance exchanges of domesticated grape varieties originating in particular from Spain, the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Middle East”

“Vegetative propagation, evidenced by genetically identical clones found on different sites and over centuries, emerged around the middle of the Iron Age and has since become a cornerstone of viticultural practice”