If you want to start an argument in the wine world, all you have to do is mention the controversial issue of “terroir”. Most certainly you will provoke some strong responses and robust discussion. It is one of the most overused, overworked, misunderstood notions that in the last 20 years, has acquired considerable substance and depth in the wide wine world. There is a regular debate about the relevance of terroir to wine, both amongst consumers and producers. At every wine tasting, especially those comparing “Old World” to “New World” wines, the inevitable question of terroir arises.
Terroir is one of those buzz-words referred to by most persons involved in the wine business, but what does it really mean? It is quite difficult discussing a concept that means different things to different people. Defining terroir is hard; the word is French, and has a relationship to “terre”, the soil, but terroir itself is not considered identical to the idea of soil although some wine experts may make that assumption. More frequently, the concept of terroir is not limited to just the soil. Terroir is an elegant notion of a single word that symbolizes a complex system of factors inherent in the concept, no matter how narrowly or broadly you define it. On the narrow end, some take into account only the physical aspects of place – geology, topography, soil, and climate – that influence the quality and character of wine. On the broad end, the term includes the effects of viticulture and winemaking, the people involved, and cultural aspects as well. Terroir can also be very loosely translated as “a sense of place” which is embodied in certain qualities, and the sum of the effects that the local environment has had on the making of a product.
Historically, terroir was seen to be a result primarily of the soil in which the vines were rooted. Soils differ in their chemical and physical properties. Vines have roots which can reach up to three metres in depth. Low levels of nutrients in the upper layers of the soil result in the roots growing down to a greater depth, which is likely to improve the regularity of water supply to the vine. These deep roots can actively take up water and minerals. Scientific literature supports the claim that the physical properties of the soils regulating the water supply to the vine are all important in determining wine quality. The supply of water to the vine is evidently critical. Vines are known to prefer well-drained soils. This is acknowledged as having a significant impact on the fruit quality. Also, producers often observe that wines produced from limestone soils have a “mineral” quality, whilst wines from clay soils are richer and more opulent.
More recently, increasing emphasis has been placed on the topography of the vineyard, especially its aspect, as having a fundamental role in shaping differences between wines. In the real world, it’s likely that different plots would not only differ in soil composition, but also other micro-environmental factors such as sun exposure, average temperature and rainfall. In reality, many producers use grapes from different plots separately to produce wine, and these soil and micro-environmental differences are commonly reflected in the character of the wines from each location. Another physical property of the soil has to do with how it reflects the sunlight back onto the vine. Also, the chemical composition of the soil is likely to be important. Growers will commonly make associations between properties of the wines and the soil types the grapes are grown in. In some cases, these assumed associations are quite specific: people will talk about mineral characters in wines and associate them with the minerals in the vineyard, taken up by the roots of the vines.
It is not only the soil, the wind, the rainfall and the temperature that determine terroir, but also the human element which plays a definite role. Before a vineyard can even be planted, it needs to be planned by the winegrower, and thus many decisions and actions are taken by the winegrowers that have an influence on terroir, which subsequently reflects in the taste of the wine. The key method of expressing terroir is through the work carried out in the vineyards by the winegrower. It is possible to taste wines made by the same producer, in the same way, but from adjoining vineyards, and notice differences between them. These variations, consistent from year to year, are put down to the distinctive terroir of the vines.
Research conducted over three years by an agricultural research centre in south-western Germany appears to offer scientific proof of the importance of terroir. According to evidence, sensory analysis showed consistent differences across the wines produced from different vineyard site types, and also very clear similarities among those produced from similar site types. There is certainly plenty of evidence that plants are tuned to detect and respond to soil nutrients. Research has shown that patterns of gene expression in plants are altered by the presence and absence of various nutrients. There is a large amount of work underway to understand the molecular biology of grapes, and scientists are now identifying genes that influence wine flavour.
Winemakers are increasingly seeing the location of origin as a key aspect in shaping the style of their wine. The goal of every artisan winemaker, after the harvest, is to establish the conditions necessary to permit the character of the fruit to be expressed through the wine. A vinification and ageing process that respects this objective demands great care. Here, the winemaker must make critical decisions that may reflect stylistic preferences. For example, one grower opts to ferment and age in stainless steel, while another chooses barrel fermentation and ageing, and a third combines the two approaches. This is the joy of the human condition, the infinite variety of ways to solve a problem and create a masterpiece.
In the last few decades, the business of wine has boomed, the media has focused its attention on this aspect of life, technological change has come at a rapid pace and enormous amounts of capital have been invested in our world of wine. A number of technological advancements have resulted in significant improvement in the overall quality of wine. Winemakers benefited immensely from these developments. That being said, we are also obliged to note that there have been trends during this period that are deeply disturbing. When the winemaking process becomes the centrepiece of the production and is elevated above the nature of the individual wine, we enter a dangerous zone, a place where nature begins to be denied. If the situation of the moment demands additional quantities, then processes can be manipulated to maximize extract, flavours and fragrances which are imported from outside sources, and, in place of terroir, we have cartoon wine: exaggerated, special-effects creatures that have all the elements of wine except the character and soul of the region. There is a fine line between making necessary refinements to a fundamental process and turning priorities on end.
The role of the winemaker is to render the fundamental character of the wine in its most clear and precise form so that it speaks to us of its geographical origin, its birthplace as it were, and the special conditions that were obtained in the particular vintage. To accomplish that goal, clean, ripe fruit must be harvested. Without that primary product, the work in the cellar is meaningless. There is little mystery to the crafting of fine wine. At the core, one must start with the proper vineyard site and excellent viticulture practices. In essence, wine is an agricultural product and its flavour and structure, those elements that make each wine unique, come from the combination of soil, climate, and grape variety. This trio is referred to as the holy trinity of terroir. Great wines can only be made from great grapes. Great grapes come only from great vines. Great vines grow only on great sites. However, terroir is like a musical instrument. Unless you know how to make use of it, it’s useless.
Few people would dispute the basic premise that wines derive certain characteristics from the place where their grapes are grown, and that man plays a role in expressing those characteristics. However in reality, an underachieving winemaker can easily make characterless wine from outstanding terroir, and a conscientious one can make a superior wine from a less-favoured site. There are those who maintain that “without people, there is no terroir.” If wine is, as they say, “made in the vineyard”, then every one of the myriad of decisions made by viticulturists – rootstock, cloning, vine spacing, trellis design, pruning styles, and harvesting dates – affects the character of grapes and wine. However, much as we might want to think of wine production as a natural process, the human element remains an important factor. And even the least interfering of winemakers makes hundreds of decisions in the winery – ferment with whole clusters or de-stemmed fruit, cold soak, natural or cultured yeast, and so on – that affect the character of wine in the bottle.
Several studies emphasise the marketing value of terroir. New World viticulturists and researchers dismiss it as a product of mysticism. However in recent years, there is an emerging trend for progressive New World viticulturists to allow for “terroir” effects in their production. As more New World producers start to take an interest in terroir, scientists are turning their attention to defining it and explaining how it affects a wine. There is an emerging widespread agreement that terroir lies at the heart of great wine, even if it is not always easy to explain. It’s that mysterious quality, its elusive complexity that makes it so fascinating. We may never fully understand the link between a wine’s taste and its terroir. And, in a way, I hope we never do. Ultimately, people who love wine see a connection to the earth which, in this virtual world, we are in danger of losing entirely. In a world of so many commodity wines, we must remain true to that.
In Europe, it is widely accepted that wines reflect their land and origin. The same can be said of cheeses, brandy, coffee, whiskies, macaroni or other agriculture-based products. The concept of terroir means that products from a particular region are unique, incapable of being reproduced outside that area, even if the production process is duplicated. Appellation systems, such as the French AOC systems, have developed around the concepts of “unique wines from a unique area”. These systems have also developed into a protected designation of origin across the European Union. An agricultural product or foodstuff which has a certain feature or set of features, setting it clearly apart from other similar products or foodstuffs belonging to the same category, can be protected using a specific designation of origin.
It is a commonly held belief in EU countries that the taste of a particular food will vary from region to region, reflecting the physical and cultural constituents of the countryside. For years, “terroir” has meant a commitment to ingredients locally produced by small, independent farmers and cooperatives. In short, as an agricultural development tool, terroir becomes a kind of code word for the various benefits and normative advantages “local” food systems are assumed to hold over their more “globalised” competitors. Historically, terroir refers to an area or terrain, usually rather small, whose soil and microclimate impart distinctive qualities to food products, as in the case of wine. The concept of terroir reaches its most elaborate expression in the case of wine, and it is no accident that it is in texts dealing with wine that one encounters it most frequently. The protection of geographical indications for wines and other alcoholic drinks was historically the first to be developed at both national and community level.
Over the centuries, winemakers in Europe developed the concept of terroir by observing the differences in wines from different regions, vineyards, or even different sections of the same vineyard. In EU countries, for a wine to be considered as a quality product, it must come from a specified region and be associated with a geographical indication or appellation PSR, (produced in a specified region). Wines which do not meet this requirement may only be marketed as table wine. All the European regulatory systems are based around an understanding that what makes a wine unique is not only the grape variety or blend of grapes used in producing the wine, but the character of the wine’s vineyard and its combination of soil, climate and exposure to the sun.
Terroir, once almost exclusively the preserve of the Old World, is now a talking point in the New World too. After some initial controversy as to whether there was truth in the concept or whether it was a mere marketing trick or fable invented by the French, a definite consensus finally gained ground and gave the seal of reality to terroir as the combination of soil, geography and human skills making up the matrix of good wine. Correspondingly, many Old World growers feel that they have a duty to make wines faithful to the vineyard sites they are working with. An overwhelming majority of the world’s most compelling and complex wines are made by people who hold the notion of terroir as being critical to wine quality.
It is now most important for the consumer to understand the concept of terroir. It should be communicated in such a way that it highlights the “difference of place” inherent in the wine, and conveys the meaning thereof to the consumer. Terroir and technology should be seen as complementary.
With increased globalisation of the wine industry and supermarket influences, terroir wine provides diversity and quality that is unlikely to be found on a supermarket shelf. Mass production winemaking practices can completely obscure any differences in terroir, which tend to be best expressed in more traditional-styled wines. Full flavoured, highly extracted and over-oaked New World reds tend to taste quite similar, even from continent to continent. Winemaking has become so sophisticated that it can completely shade the effect of terroir. Consequently, the merits of terroir over other high quality, well-produced wines are dubious and will continue to be strongly debated.
In conclusion, terroir is as real in wine as it is in food. A terroir is a delimited geographical area where a human community develops collective knowledge over time regarding production, based on a system of interaction between a physical and natural environment and a set of human factors. People provide the link between place and wine through the processes of viticulture and winemaking. We prize things that are local, and we prize things that have an essential sense of place, and we have the ability (and desire) to reach around the world to bring those local tastes thousands of miles to our home and restaurant tables. Even if science leaves us with what currently looks like rather a feeble version of terroir, this doesn’t necessarily diminish the importance of this cherished concept. But given that just about every wine producer these days claims to produce wines that respect terroir, and claims to take a “non-interventionist” approach, the consumer has every reason to wonder what terroir means in practice.
Wine News and Information
* American wine lovers don’t necessarily see wine as something to be drunk with food. Recent research shows that nearly 60% of the wine consumed by avid U.S. wine drinkers does not accompany a meal. About one-quarter of the wine they drink is consumed on its own in situations where food of any kind is a no-show. One-third of the wine is consumed with snacks or appetizers, or while the consumer is preparing a meal. Americans are “developing a notion of wine as a drink”. Even though this applies to wine drinkers of all ages, the so-called millennials “are leading the charge”. Three-quarters of this group born after 1980 say they “kick back over a bottle of wine” with their friends. The following were some other surprising findings in the Wine Opinions research. Dry red wine, the leading type of wine for all occasions, is also the leading category of wine consumed without food. It was followed distantly by dry white wine, then by semisweet, off-dry or sparkling wines. Nearly half of respondents reported drinking dry red wines without food weekly or even more often.
These observations might explain why so many wines these days are soft, plush and low in acid. Acidity is considered essential when drinking wine with a meal, because that acidity cuts through the food and leaves you ready for more. But without food, a high-acid wine, whether red or white, can be less attractive to some drinkers. Also, where red wines are concerned, a firm tannic structure helps the wine to pair well with hearty meat dishes. But mouth-drying tannins aren’t so great when you’re sipping wine as a cocktail. The Wine Opinions survey showed the existence of an obsession with smoothing out tannins in red wine and consequently, smoothness might be something that has paved the way for more dry reds without food.
* The statistics, by market research firm Unicab, showed 69% of Italians over 65 drink wine every day, while only 13% of 16- to 35-year-olds do the same. Giovanni Brunetti of Unicab said one of the main reasons for the decline was the “social evolution”.
“Italian families have become more and more fragmented in the last 10 years. They’re not eating meals together and so wine is no longer a form of food. Wine no longer has a nutritional function.” The research also found that 30% of Italians no longer consider wine to be a symbol of Italian gastronomy. The cost of wine has also played a part in the drop in consumption. Nearly half of the Italian population (48.8%) spends less than €3 on a bottle of wine for everyday drinking, a situation exacerbated by Italy having the highest rate of unemployment among young people in Europe.
Monolithos Monthly News
May, and warmer weather, brings weeds. The soil is worked again and unwanted venations are removed. The warmer temperatures encourage the vines to flower. The growers hope for good and stable weather without hailstones, high humidity or extreme heat to assist in this critical stage. Traditionally, harvest starts approximately 100 days after flowering occurs. By the middle of May, the petals drop and tiny hard green grapes start to become visible. The vineyards are regularly inspected, weeded, and sprayed, as weeds constantly compete with the grapevines for nutrients. The vines are also trimmed to encourage fruit production.
In the winery, the 2009 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon was bottled and stored for bottle ageing. This wine will be made available for purchasing as from next October.
Having acquired the town planning permission, work is underway for preparing all the necessary studies regarding the structural details, electromechanical drawings and energy conservation and consumption of the new winery building. These documents will be submitted to the local district office for final approval before construction work can be initiated.
Currently, all the 2009 wines are available for tasting and purchasing. If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or purchase any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.
We thank you for your continued support and we welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns.
Remember:
“Nothing more excellent nor more valuable than wine was ever granted mankind by God.”
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