French and Italian researchers have decoded the genome of the pinot noir grape, a breakthrough that could one day lead to the engineering of pest-resistant strains or - more controversially - new varieties and flavours of wine.

The study showed that wine connoisseurs who praise the "complexity" of Champagne and Burgundy wines are spot on: pinot noir has around 30,000 genes in its DNA, compared with 20,000-25,000 in the human genome.

The grape had more than a hundred genes dedicated to creating the tannins and terpenes that give wine its rich flavour, twice as many as other plants.

The team published its findings in the journal Nature yesterday. Pinot noir is the first grape, and the first fruit, to be genetically mapped, and it could take years to apply this new knowledge to the vines. But it could eventually lead to hardier grape varieties that are more resistant to bugs and disease.

This could be the first step towards developing new flavours of wine, according to one of the researchers, Patrick Wincker; but because flavour also depends on sunlight and soil conditions, "tweaking the taste of wine won't be straightforward", he said.