Why wine lovers should raise a glass to meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs

Discovery of grape seeds from 60 million years ago links development of vines to giant reptile extinction

Scientists think that the extinction of dinosaurs allowed grapes to flourish in the forests of South America . Illustration: Getty

Joe Pinkstone
© Telegraph.co.uk

The demise of the dinosaurs could be to thank for the existence of wine because it helped grapes to flourish, a study suggests.

The mass extinction event 66 million years ago allowed primitive grape species to thrive in forests which were previously unsuitable during the era of the giant reptiles.