Ep. 847 SOS Special Edition | Everybody Needs A Bit Of Scienza

Welcome to our special SOS. Everybody needs a bit of Shanza installment. This is a shout out to all the wine geeks out there. We need some feedback on the professor's new book, the English version of jumbo shrimp guide to the origins evolution and future of the grapevine. The Italian wine podcast is part of the mama jumbo shrimp brand and mama jumbo shrimp is all about breaking down difficult concepts into small bite sized pieces. The issue here is that the new book is well a bit difficult to chew at this point. So we want to invite wine lovers out there to give us their input and advice to make the final product more reader friendly. So have at it, wine lovers. Don't be shy. Send your comments to info at italian wine podcast dot com. Now on to the show. Welcome to another episode of, SOS special edition. Everybody needs a bit of Shenza. This is actually not with professor Shinto, my name is Joy Livingston. I'm here with Richard Huff. A pale limitation. I'm afraid. And, actually, Richard has been translating, the professor's new book. And, we have yet to decide upon a title, so I'm not going to talk about that too much. But the idea here is to, read narrate for for Richard to narrate. A little bit of the the book in, in each one of these episodes so that listeners in the international wine community can tune in and perhaps give us their feedback their ideas, opinions, thoughts, whatever, on this writing. And to see whether or not there is a way to make this more digestible for everyday readers rather than, you know, something that belongs in, something that belongs in a university context. Yeah. Library. Yeah. Yeah. So so, yeah, that's what's going on here. And I'm just stepping in today for Stevie, who usually does these. She's, jet setting off in New York. And, so yeah, Richard. Okay. Here we are again. Yes. Thank you. I'll I'll just give you a a quick synopsis if you like of the the chapter that we're about to to read. So it's chapter six, and it's basically exploring the classification and identification of vine species, and it explains that historically species were identified and classified according to their physical characteristics. Subbotanists, for example, study leaf shape, cluster patterns, even the size and the the form of the seeds. Whereas nowadays modern biology and genetics means that we have a deeper understanding about the nature of the species and how they evolved and in fact continue to evolve to this day. So this is just again some some scientific background, some historical background that Shenzo gives, that really, I think, can help us to understand some of the issues that are facing wind production today, issues around climate change and genetic engineering and that kind of thing. Well, let's, let's get to the to the to the book then. That sounds interesting. Okay. Good. So it's chapter six. How are vine species identified and classified. The genus Vethis was historically classified into two subgenerate uveitis and muscadenia. Amongst the uveitis subgenerate three groups of species can currently be distinguished the first. The American boreal, which includes about twenty eight species, and which offered resistance to disease and phylloxera, and was used for the creation of root stocks and resistant hybrids. The second is the Eastern Asia group of about forty species, and the third is the Eurasian group, which includes only Vitesvineifera. So what criteria determine the assignment of an individual grapevine to a particular species? Ernce Meyer, the renowned German American epistemologist answered this question in a provocative way stating that the difference between two species is as clear as that between the lion and the tiger. For Linias, the species didn't play as important a role as the genus. Although he was a creationist, then he stated in the later editions of his works that only the genera were created initially and that species were the product of the crossing of different genera Darwin also viewed this species as something purely arbitrary and invention by taxonomists for sheer convenience. The transition from a morphological concept of species which focused on the physical form and external structure to a biological one emphasized by British naturalist Alfred Wallace is based on the fact that a species is a population occupying a specific niche in nature and reproductive actively isolated from other species. A new systemic of genus fetus was therefore necessary, which was based on the biological properties rather than the physical characteristics used in the past for classification. The terminology had to be adapted by introducing the terms ecospecies and ecotype to define the degree of interaction of an individual with a particular habitat and of Coeno species for those species capable of exchanging genes amongst themselves, an aspect that characterizes sympatric populations that is two related species or populations that exist in the same geographic area and so frequently encounter one another. Through breeding, It is thus possible to transform species into populations and to remove the differences between Eurasian and North American species, recomposing that geographical integrity and genetic continuity interrupted by the tectonics of the continents and by the glaciations. Although the methods of molecular biology have greatly improved the possibility of studying the relationship between species, the results of interspecific hybridization and integrative hybridization are still difficult to interpret. The frequency of such phenomena calls into question the standard paradigm of evolutionary theory represented by classical phylogenetic models. Spontaneous hybridization or cross breeding events have occurred both in the distant past and more recently, for example, in response to climate change. In particular, in the United States, the north south orientation of the Rocky Mountains favored the movement of species during the glacial and interglacial periods within the North American continent. Spontaneous hybridization or cross breeding events have occurred both in the distant past and more recently For example, in response to climate change. In particular, in the United States, the north south orientation of the rocky mountains favored the movement of species during the glacial and inter glacial periods within the North American continent. The high variability of the physical characteristics of American species of grape has led to the proliferation of one hundred and forty names to describe sixty five species currently recognized. These numerous synonyms seem to be one of the reasons why the evolutionary relationships within the genus fetus have never been clearly defined to date. Most of the American species are distributed in the eastern and southern states whose geographic boundaries partially overlap despite the geographical and phenological barriers that have prevented hybridization between American species in some cases, research in this field dating back to the early years of the twentieth century has highlighted the widespread formation of natural hybrids. For example, in Texas, due to its particular climatic conditions, vines belonging to the Vitesus Liparia species have been involved in various hybridization processes resulting in the creation of new variants. On the other hand, there is also a risk that the genetic resources or trunk species will diminish certain species increasingly restricted to limited territories and seriously threatened by the spread of invasive species. That was that was really awesome. I really enjoyed that. It was, quite interesting. There is he has so much knowledge on so many different topics, in in this area. Yeah. Yeah. It's really it's kind of scary. Yeah. It's one of the great things about it. It's also one of the big challenges when I have when you're you're translating his words because every phrase, every word, every expression really comes with often not head in meaning, but a deeper significance or deeper meaning that sometimes, to be honest, passes me by. So, yeah, it's it's really rich and really, you know, depth the depth of it is is is pretty incredible. Sometimes I find that the chapter can end rather abruptly, and I'm not quite sure, whether perhaps we need to to to perhaps provide some kind of summary or some kind of, signpost a bit better, you know, what the the key arguments or what what is the significance of this information, to the overall argument. But yeah, yep, that was chapter six. Cool. Well, that's there you have it, to all all our listeners. I hope that, Yeah. If you enjoyed that and you have any comments or thoughts on how we can make it more bite size for the general reader, because, of course, as I I I have been saying this is intended for the jumbo shrimp guide series. And, of course, that's all about, making very large complex ideas simple and easily accessible to all. So This is what we're doing, and I I hope you will come back again next week for another installment of SOS special edition. Everybody needs a bit of Shenza. With that, it's a wrap. Remember to like and subscribe to the Italian wine podcast. And, we are also on YouTube with with tons of great wine content. You can find us at mama jumbo shrimp. And, Yeah. That's that's it. And I'll see you next time. Thanks, Troy. Bye. Listen to the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud Apple Podcasts spotify, HimalIFM, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italian wine podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, production, and publication until next time. Chichi. Hi, guys. I'm Joy Livings Denon. I am the producer of the Italian wine podcast. Thank you for listening. We are the only wine podcast that has been doing a daily show since the pandemic began. This is a labor of love and we are committed to bringing you free content every day. Of course, this takes time and effort not to mention the cost of equipment, production, and editing. We would be grateful for your donations, suggestions, requests, and ideas. 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