Wine growing in the Iberian Peninsula began about 3,000 years ago with grapevines from the eastern Mediterranean, according to new research. Ancient DNA links the first cultivated vines in southern Iberia to domesticated grapes from regions around the eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans.
Clusters of dark purple grapes hanging on a vine. Credit: David Köhler
An international research team studied 28 ancient grape seeds from archaeological sites in Spain and Sardinia. The seeds cover more than 2,000 years of grape growing, from the Iron Age through the Middle Ages.
The study, published in Current Biology, was led by researchers from the Universitat de València, the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences, and the Spanish National Research Council. Researchers from universities in the United Kingdom, France and Germany also took part.
The team extracted ancient DNA from waterlogged grape seeds and compared the results with genetic data from modern wild and cultivated vines. Researchers examined both nuclear DNA and chloroplast DNA. Chloroplast DNA passes from the female parent to the next generation in grapevines, helping trace family links.
The Phoenicians transported wine across the Mediterranean in amphorae. Credit: Nanosanchez, public domain
The oldest cultivated-type grape seeds in the study came from southern Spain. They date to about 1000 BCE and carry genetic signs linked to domesticated vines from the eastern Mediterranean.
These findings support the role of Phoenician settlers in bringing cultivated grapevines to Iberia. Phoenician communities settled in parts of southern and eastern Iberia during the first millennium BCE. Their arrival helped spread grape growing and wine production across the region.
The ancient seeds also show what happened after these vines reached Iberia. Some Iron Age seeds carried genetic traits from both eastern domesticated grapes and wild vines native to Iberia and western Europe.
Imported vines therefore crossed with local wild grapes at an early stage. New grape lineages formed from these crosses, creating part of the genetic base for later Iberian wine grapes.
By about 2,500 years ago, a distinct Iberian wine-grape group had already formed. Genetic links between this ancient group and present-day varieties point to long-term continuity in grape growing across the peninsula.
A vineyard with rows of vines. Credit: Lukáš Kulla
The researchers found one especially clear link in a medieval seed from Valencia. Its genetic profile matched Pasa Valenciana, a Spanish grape variety still grown today.
Another long-lived lineage is Hebén. Genetic evidence shows a history of cultivation lasting at least 1,100 years, linking medieval grape growing with a variety still known today.
The study also found family links between seeds from different periods. These links show how some grape lineages survived through centuries of changes in farming and wine production.
Wine production became an important commercial activity in southern and eastern Iberia by the late eighth century BCE. The new genetic evidence adds a biological record to the archaeological evidence for this early trade.
The research also offers a new way to study old crop varieties. Ancient grape DNA links archaeological finds with living vines, helping trace how farming shaped the grape varieties grown today.
For Iberian viticulture, the results point to a long history of movement, local breeding and survival. Grapevines brought from the eastern Mediterranean mixed with local plants, and some of their descendants still grow in Iberia today.
Publication: Pérez-Jordà, G., Peña-Chocarro, L., Drosou, K., Tello, J., Bouby, L., Bonhomme, V., … Royo, C. (2026). Eastern origin and three-millennia persistence of a founding grapevine lineage in Iberian viticulture. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.039
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