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American Morning

Florida Explores Wine Potential With Genetic Engineering

Aired August 16, 2001 - 10:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. When you think of Florida and you think of oranges and juice, probably. But are you thinking of grapes and wine? Probably not. In fact, if you try to grow a wine grape in Florida, more often than not those grapes die on the vines because of disease.

But our Ann Kellan now tells us that part of that could come with a change and a new genetically-modified grapevine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANN KELLAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Florida. A disease called Pierce's killed the tastiest wine grapes here, like this Zinfandel. But now researchers have genetically modified this merlot grapevine to resist Pierce's disease.

JEANINE BURGESS, LAKERIDGE WINERY: It will be a good thing for this industry. It will open up a whole world of grapes that we can grow that we can't currently grow.

KELLAN: Lakeridge Winery, one of the few here, grows mostly muscadine grapes -- very sweet, and naturally resistant to Pierce's.

What can't grow here are the wine grapes you know best. Why? This bug, the glassy-winged sharpshooter, injects grape leaves with Pierce's disease and is common in the southern U.S.

DENNIS GRAY, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA: This is the earliest step in the transformation, or genetic engineering procedure.

KELLAN: To kill the Pierce's bacteria, Dennis Gray and his University of Florida research team inserted a silkworm gene called shiva into the cells of some of the vulnerable grapevine plants. In silkworm, shiva makes a bacteria-killing protein.

Will that protein kill Pierce's disease in these vines?

GRAY: We're very optimistic, but we're on pins and needles waiting to find out whether this works.

JANE RISSLER, UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS: Could adding the new gene add a new toxin? Could it be a -- cause a new allergenic protein to be expressed? Those are the kinds of questions one would ask about human health. GRAY: I share concerns of not doing things that are harmful, but the risk assessment on this is very detailed, and we are involved in doing that to make sure that the plants are safe.

KELLAN (on camera): And what about taste? Way too early to tell. It will take several years to test and develop genetically- modified grapevines, so it will probably be five or 10 years before any of its grapes make it into a bottle of wine for consumers to taste.

So what are these grapes?

BURGESS: These are Blanc Du Bois.

KELLAN (voice-over): Burgess admits even if she can beat Pierce's disease, Florida's climate and topography won't challenge California and France for wine superiority, but could bring the world a wider variety of wine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KELLAN: Now, we tested -- we asked the California wine industry to react to the genetically-modified vines, and they said that they would prefer to get rid of the Pierce's disease without genetically changing the vine, because they're a little concerned about what consumers and farmers would think about that.

And then we went to the French and asked what the French think, and you'd think that they would be totally against it, but they are actually testing genetically-modified vines, basically because of another disease there. But they're saying we're going to wait, like 15 to 25 years, we're going to do a longtime test before you ever see any genetically-modified grapes in a bottle of French wine.

KAGAN: Got it. Can I just say first that people stop by here all day long -- we have guests. No one else brings a bottle of wine.

(LAUGHTER)

KELLAN: Just for you.

KAGAN: Nice touch. You know, good training at home, can I just say.

But this bottle that you brought, this is from Florida.

KELLAN: Florida.

KAGAN: And it's not genetically altered, from genetically- altered grapes or vines or anything.

KELLAN: Exactly. And that's what's interesting about this. It's not genetically, and they're doing it, and it's a dry white wine, which is -- you know, normally you get that muscadine wine, which is very sweet. I did taste this and this is dry -- it's a dry white, and has won awards. KAGAN: OK, so if they've done that and they're making good wine in Florida, why not just keep it like this and stay away from the genetically -- you know, it gives people the heebie-jeebies when you start talking genetically altered.

KELLAN: I asked them that and they said, well, because it takes 30 to 50 years to come up with one of these.

KAGAN: Oh, OK.

KELLAN: And we're a little impatient in this country, in the world, and now that we have the technology to do this, why don't we just do it more quickly and then we'd have a lot more varieties of wine and a lot more places could grow it. And there you have it. We're just an impatient world right now and they want to test it. And they said they won't release it until they're pretty sure it's safe.

KAGAN: Ann Kellan, thank you for stopping by, thanks for the report. And thanks for the wine. It will make the rest of the newscast go much faster.

(LAUGHTER)

KELLAN: You're welcome.

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