Cabernet Sauvignon
Vitis vinifera L. subsp. sativa
A black-skinned grape from France whose parents were found with DNA markers in 1997.
Passport
In the Vitis International Variety Catalogue the prime name is CABERNET SAUVIGNON. Species: Vitis vinifera subsp. sativa. Berry skin colour: noir. Country of origin: France.1
How the parents were found
A team at the University of California, Davis, led by Carole Meredith with doctoral student John Bowers, compared 51 wine grape varieties using 30 DNA markers and statistical tests.2 The result was published in Nature Genetics in May 1997: Cabernet Sauvignon is the offspring of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.3
The researchers suspect a spontaneous cross between vines growing in adjacent vineyards rather than deliberate breeding.2 VIVC lists the pedigree as confirmed by markers.1
Sixty-two other names
VIVC records 62 synonyms. The first in its alphabetical list are Bidure, Bordeaux, Bordo, Bouche, Bouchet, Bouchet Sauvignon, Bourdeos Tinto and Bouschet Sauvignon.1
On the plate above, the leaf and cluster are a schematic drawing, not a botanical description of a specific vine.
Sources
- Passport data: Cabernet Sauvignon (VIVC 1929). Vitis International Variety Catalogue, Julius Kühn-Institut, 2026. level 2 · checked 2026-10-13
- DNA Fingerprinting Reveals Parentage of Classic Wine Grape. University of California, Davis, 1997. level 4 · checked 2026-10-13
- Bowers J. E., Meredith C. P. The parentage of a classic wine grape, Cabernet Sauvignon. Nature Genetics 16, 1997. level 3 · checked 2026-10-13