Who knew you could learn so much by looking in a 600-year-old toilet?
According to the U.K.’s The Times, a new study discovered a grape seed sitting in a medieval hospital latrine in Northern France. The seed turned out to be an identical genetic match to modern pinot noir.
“It is quite possible that they drank wine made with the same grapes we use today, but we can’t say it was the exact same wine,” says study author Ludovic Orlando.
“There is textual evidence of winemaking with pinot noir at the time but the flavour and characteristics of a wine depend on how it is made, and modern techniques are quite different from ancient methods,” Orlando continues. “Today pinot noir is used to make very different styles of wine from top-rated Romanée-Conti vintages to mid-range or quite ordinary wines.”
As long as it wasn’t merlot. We’re not drinking any merlot.