Understanding the Science Behind Ancient Wine

In February, I came upon a really cool article at SevenFiftyDaily called Understanding the Science Behind Ancient Wine.¹
The article immediately appealed to me because not only did it examine how scientific techniques were used in the elucidation of ancient wine it also delved into the use of genomics to understand the genetics and ancestry of grapes (Vitis). It is a very accessible article to read, but I wanted more. So, I followed the links that were provided in the article and it propelled me on a grapevine genetics ancestry research mining expedition.
Here is what the Grapevine Family Tree looks like:²

One of the links that lead me down the rabbit hole was this article A phylogenetic analysis of the grape genus (Vitis L.) reveals broad reticulation and concurrent diversification during neogene and quaternary climate change that takes the grape family tree to a whole different level.³
Here is the summary of their findings: Published in 2013, this paper from Chinese researchers and members of Cornell University peered far deeper into the past. Their research suggest that the modern Vitis grape species diverged from earlier relatives about 28 million years ago, that Eurasian grapes diverged from North American ones about 11 million years ago, and finally, that European species diverged from Asian ones about 6 million years ago.
Come down the rabbit hole with me by following my future blogposts on this topic. So far, I've collated all of the previous blogposts on Grape Genetics under this new tab:

References:
1. SevenFiftyDaily, Understanding the Science Behind Ancient Wine.
2. Vitis International Variety Catalogue VIVC, Taxonomic tree.
3. Yizhen Wan, Heidi R Schwaninger, Angela M Baldo, Joanne A Labate, Gan-Yuan Zhong, and Charles J Simon, A phylogenetic analysis of the grape genus (Vitis L.) reveals broad reticulation and concurrent diversification during neogene and quaternary climate change, BMC Evolutionary Biology 2013, 13:141.