Fondazione Edmund Mach creates world's first grape metabolomic atlas

The Fondazione Edmund Mach (FEM) has developed the world’s first metabolomic atlas of grape varieties. Through the ‘Grape metabolome’ project, researchers analyzed 126 varieties globally to create a chemical map based on metabolic composition rather than DNA.

This atlas provides a detailed profile of the molecules within the grapes, including sugars, acids, polyphenols, and aromatic precursors. By bridging the gap between genotype and phenotype, the research allows enologists to identify similarities and differences between varieties through their unique metabolic fingerprints. The findings, featured in the International Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, aim to provide winemakers with deeper insights into the enological potential of different grape types.