A word that other languages cannot translate, yet explains why two neighboring vineyards never produce the same wine. Here’s how the terroir is reflected in the glass.
A word that other languages cannot translate, yet explains why two neighboring vineyards never produce the same wine. Here’s how the terroir is reflected in the glass.
The wine terroir encompasses all the factors that contribute to the uniqueness of a wine: its geographical location, climate, soil and subsoil, and the work of the people who cultivate it. It is such a specific concept that it is rarely translated into other languages and has no equivalent in English.
In other words, terroir is not just a piece of land. It is a bundle: the region, climate, altitude, dryness, local history, the decisions and actions of the winemaker come together to give each wine a personality that cannot be found anywhere else.
And that is precisely why the word resists translation. It combines geology, meteorology, and human culture into a single term. Without humans, terroir is nothing: just a hope, a promise written in the subsoil.
Nota Bene: we speak of typicity when a wine bears the recognizable marks of its region of origin, both through its geology and the local production traditions.
The climate of a wine region is the set of atmospheric conditions that define this region: we distinguish between oceanic, continental, mountainous, or Mediterranean climates. In France, Bordeaux wines grow under an oceanic climate, while Burgundy is under a semi-continental climate.
To characterize the climate of a vineyard, four concrete elements are considered:
the average of minimum and maximum temperaturesthe average of precipitationthe nature of the wind, which can dry out the grapes, cool them down, or warm them up and prevent them from freezingrecurring climatic threats: frost, hail, storms
These data are not just statistics for number enthusiasts. They dictate viticultural practices: which grape varieties to favor, what pruning method to adopt, when to harvest. A northern grape variety planted under a scorching sun loses its complexity and elegance, while the opposite results in grapes that never fully ripen.
Climate and weather are two very different things when it comes to wine: climate is characteristic of a geographical area and remains stable, while weather defines the vintage. Climate dictates which grape varieties to plant, while weather determines what the current year will yield.
A hot and dry year produces wine with a very distinct character compared to a cold and rainy year. This is especially true in the weeks leading up to the harvest, a period when everything can change.
Weather accidents are directly reflected in the glass. If it’s too hot, grape growth slows down and sugar concentration becomes too high: the wine will have a high alcohol content and lack acidity. If it rains too much, the vines grow excessively, the berries become large, low in sugar, acidic, and poor in coloring matter. If there isn’t enough rain, the vine gets thirsty, stops growing, and the ripening of the grapes can simply halt.
Then there are the two nightmares of winemakers. Spring frost, which strikes during bud break (the moment when the bud opens and reveals the young shoot): frozen buds die and will produce no grapes. And hail, which can occur at any time of the year and shred the vine in less than ten minutes, devastating an entire harvest.
Altitude directly influences the vineyard and the choice of grape variety: a grape grown at high altitude does not react like a grape planted near sea level. The reason is simple; temperature variations are much more pronounced there, both between summer and winter, and between morning and evening.
These daily temperature amplitudes change the ripening rhythm of the grape. A grape variety that thrives in warm plains can become unrecognizable just a few hundred meters higher, and vice versa.
That is why altitude is, just as much as the regional climate, a determining factor when deciding what to plant. A winemaker who settles at a higher elevation does not choose the same varieties as their neighbor in the valley, even if they are just a few kilometers apart.
A vineyard planted on a slope has three concrete advantages: rainwater drains away instead of stagnating at the roots, exposure can be optimized, and the soil is generally poorer than in the plains. For these reasons, hillside vineyards often produce better wines.
Orientation is extremely important. A slope facing south, southeast, or southwest enjoys ideal sunlight, which helps the grapes reach maturity without forcing.
Topography is therefore not just a postcard detail. These vineyards clinging to the hillsides, sometimes difficult to work, benefit from natural drainage that the plains cannot offer. The roots, lacking easy access to water and nutrients, dig deeper, and that is exactly what the vine loves.
The soil influences the taste of wine, but what really matters is the subsoil: the bedrock in which the roots weave and cling. The surface soil is most often composed of earth; the signature comes from what lies beneath.
The main families of vineyard subsoils are clay, limestone or clay-limestone, marls left by the disappearance of ancient oceans, schists, granite and gneiss from the mountains, sands, gravel, and pebbles from seas, rivers, and deltas, not to mention rolled stones, chalky soils, basalt, and volcanic rocks.
Each type imparts a tendency to the wine, without ever being an absolute rule:
clay soil: voluminous, rich, tannic wineslimestone soil: elegant, acidic, fine winesschist soil: mineral and slender winesgranite soil: soft, harmonious, aromatic winesmarl soil: powerful winesvolcanic soil: deep wines, long on the palate, with smoky aromas
Nota Bene: contrary to popular belief, the vine greatly prefers poor soils. Good wines are born from ungrateful lands, moderate in water and nutrients, which force the plant to send its roots several meters deep to survive. The deeper the roots go, the better the wine. A rich and fertile soil, on the contrary, makes the vine burst forth like a vine and prevents a good concentration of juice in the grape. The ideal: a vine that is neither stressed nor favored.
The role of the winemaker in the terroir is to enhance it, both in the vineyard and in the cellar: he respects the terroir, but he interprets and shapes it. It is this work that transforms geological potential into true terroir wine.
It begins with the selection of plots. In the Middle Ages, in Burgundy, monks literally tasted the soil to decide on the course of action. Today, sophisticated analyses allow for a more scientific evaluation of the care needed, but the objective has not changed.
Next come the technical choices, all dictated by the soil and climate: which grape varieties to favor, what trellising and pruning to adopt, how to care for the vines, and above all, what is the best time to harvest. The winemaker also reshapes the soils, drains them, maintains them, and nourishes them.
Finally, in the cellar, he chooses the vinification and aging methods that will allow the terroir to express itself, without suffocating or masking it with excessive technique, and without falling into the opposite neglect. All the art lies in this balance.
A terroir wine highlights the land, its climate, and the winemaker, while a varietal wine primarily expresses the aromas of the grape variety from which it is made. The first category tells the story of a place, while the second tells the story of a grape.
A terroir wine is one whose geological and geographical characteristics are emphasized, drawing on the history and traditions of production techniques from its region, and is not crafted according to fashion. A varietal wine, on the other hand, focuses on varietal expression, lacks a geographical delimitation, relies on technological production that does not reflect the wine region, and is often shaped to resemble fashionable wines.
Note: this is not a value judgment. A well-made varietal wine, such as a Sauvignon or Syrah, is not bad at all. It may not be of great refinement, but it can pleasantly accompany an evening with friends without being imposing. If one has to choose a low-priced option, a modest, unapologetic varietal wine is preferable to a bottle trying to pass itself off as a grand estate.
Terroir wine, however, appeals to those seeking emotion: to feel the richness of the clay or the acidity of the stones, the roundness of a warm year, the bitterness of an ancestral grape variety, the delicacy of the winemaker.
To identify a terroir wine, you must first change your place of purchase: it is rarely found in supermarkets. Head to the small wine shop or the estate, directly with the winemaker, who can explain their plots. Good news, a terroir wine is not necessarily expensive; it simply requires attention and care.
The label also provides clues. In Burgundy, wines are classified according to the terroir rather than the estates: on a premier cru, the name of the climate, meaning the plot of terroir, is specified under the appellation. In Bordeaux, the hierarchy is organized more around the properties. Therefore, one must learn to distinguish between two different pieces of information: the terroir on one side and the producer on the other. The back label, when there is one, often completes the picture with the history of the estate and its approach to wine.
But the best verification remains comparative tasting. Take three Alsace Rieslings from different terroirs, spread from north to south of the region, for example, grand crus from Kirchberg-de-Ribeauvillé, Sommerberg, and Kitterlé. The Riesling plays with the soil and expresses like no other grape variety the terroir that gives it life, with its mineral aromas, salty stones, and sometimes its famous note of petroleum.
The same principle applies to neighboring appellations: compare the precision of a Chablis, the breadth of a Meursault, and the friendliness of a Saint-Véran, and the word terroir ceases to be abstract.
For more than thirty years, observations have shown that climate change is advancing grape maturity: it ripens earlier, even too early in historic wine regions. The direct consequence on harvests and wine is that grapes are becoming increasingly sweet and wines are becoming higher in alcohol, risking becoming syrupy and heavy to digest.
For vineyards in southern France, Spain, Italy, Australia, and certain American regions, this is a real problem: how to maintain freshness in wines? The adaptation levers are known; it is necessary to reconsider leaf pruning, shift harvest dates, and sometimes change the very nature of the grape varieties planted.
However, it should be nuanced, as this warming is a boon for other regions. Champagne no longer worries about obtaining sufficiently ripe grapes, and the vines on the British coast are thriving in an unprecedented way, particularly for sparkling wines on chalky soils.
What will the map of vineyards look like in half a century? It is likely that the vine, originally from the Mediterranean, will gradually abandon its birthplace to move towards the poles. New grape varieties... and new terroirs will then need to be invented.
A wine-growing microclimate is a set of unique characteristics that modify the local climate on a very small scale, within a larger climatic zone. Classic examples include a basin, the slope of a hill, a body of water, or a forest near the vineyards.
In addition to the major oceanic, continental, mountainous, or Mediterranean climates, there is a multitude of these microclimates. Two plots separated by a few hundred meters can experience very different nighttime temperatures, wind exposure, or frost risk.
The subsoil adds another layer of complexity. In the same wine region, it is common for several types of soils to succeed or overlap each other, making the perception of terroir particularly delicate. This also explains why a winemaker can produce two very different cuvées from neighboring plots, using the same grape variety and vinification process.
If the word terroir remains untranslatable, it is because no other language needed a unique term to designate both a climate, an altitude, a slope, a parent rock, and generations of know-how. Terroir is this alliance, and nothing less: nature proposes, tradition and the winemaker interpret.
Let’s recap the three pillars. First, the geographical situation, with the regional climate, microclimates, altitude, and exposure of the slopes. Next, the soil and especially the subsoil, clay, limestone, schist, granite, marl, or volcanic rock, knowing that the vine gives its best on poor soils. Finally, the work of humans, from the choice of plots and grape varieties to aging in the cellar.
The next step is up to you. A map of appellations will never replace a landscape of vineyards, with its slopes, valleys, foothills, and waterways. To understand a terroir, one must walk through it, feel the clay or limestone underfoot, caress the vine, and kick the pebbles that lie between the vines.
And above all, taste. Organize a comparative tasting of two or three wines from the same region, read the labels, and push open the door of a winery. Theory is only valuable when put into practice, and the palate learns faster than one might think.
Author Audrey on 21 August 2024
Gastronomy and Food : Food
Author Audrey on 29 October 2024
Gastronomy and Food : Diet and Dietetics