It was the Gamaret that settled the matter. It was earthy yet fruity, with enough acidity to cut through my dinner, which happened to be a terrific dish of grilled veal kidneys in mustard sauce, perfectly cooked. It had no discernible wood – never drink oaky wines with offal, or both food and wine will taste like licking a car door – and it was textured and moreish. It also happened to be fundamentally unnatural.
In the 19th century, grape varieties were crossed like animal breeds and for much the same reasons: we are a know-it-all species, convinced we can do better than nature. Resistance to disease or cold, an ability to ripen early or yield bountifully, was bred in, either by combining two types of the traditional wine species, Vitis vinifera, or by crossing one with others that were less highly regarded but had other advantages.
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