Systems biology of vintage and terroir: adding some flavor to the wine grape transcriptome

Abstract High-throughput genomic tools provide an unprecedented opportunity to study the impact of environmental variables on complex phenotypes at the genome scale. We welcome the establishment of an experimental framework that uses omics approaches to determine the effect of the climate and viticultural practices on the grape berry physiology. However, in this commentary, we argue that genomics and genetics studies of wine grapes need to be integrated with descriptive sensory analysis of their resulting wines.