Carole P. Meredith is an American grape geneticist and was a professor at the Department of Viticulture and Enology of

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

Career

Before she retired in 2003, Meredith and her research group pioneered the use of

DNA typing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

to differentiate ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are cur ...

'' grape varieties and for elucidating their parentage, which gives insight into the varieties' history and place of origin. In 1996, Meredith and her research established the parentage of

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon ...

, which was the first application of such techniques. Later,

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new ...

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

, and

Zinfandel Zinfandel (also known as Primitivo) is a variety of black-skinned wine grape. The variety is grown in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA analysis has revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kašt ...

followed.Lagier-Meredith: Who we are
The research group showed that the varieties

Primitivo Zinfandel (also known as Primitivo) is a variety of black-skinned wine grape. The variety is grown in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA analysis has revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kašte ...

, and Crljenak Kaštelanski are identical. The varieties Charbono and Corbeau were also found to be identical. In 2009, she was inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame.

Winemaking

In 1986, she moved to Napa Valley commuting to UC Davis where her husband, Steve Lagier, made wine at Robert Mondavi Winery. After her retirement from academia in January 2003, Meredith and her husband grow on 4 acres

, Malbec, and Mondeuse in the Mount Veeder AVA of Napa Valley under the Lagier-Meredith label. The first vines on their property were planted in 1994.

References

American viticulturists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) American geneticists 21st-century American botanists American women botanists University of California, Davis faculty Women botanists 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American women scientists {{US-biologist-stub