If there's one thing I've become accustomed to as a graduate
business student, it is case studies. And if there's a second thing, it's
probably wine. So imagine my intrigue while browsing the online New York
Times several weeks ago and
seeing the title, "Corsican Reds, A Case Study in Wine Terroir." Now, I
don't always read the Food section of the NYT,
but when I do, I prefer to read about wine tastings.
On the heels of prior week's readings and speakers on
biodynamic and organic enology and viticulture, I was already curious to look
into this idea of terroir. But then the NYT Food Blog pulled me into a deep, dark spiral of web-surfing on the topic. It’s taken me a bit to get around to blogging about it, but here’s my quick dip
into the vast pool of oenophile sophistication that is formally known by the French
word stemming from the root terre,
meaning “land.”
According to the fountain of knowledge that is the omniscient and
ever-changing Wikipedia, terroir is "the set of enviromental
factors that affect a crop’s
phenotype [how genetic and environmental influences come together to create an
organism’s physical appearance and behavior], unique
environment contexts, and farming practices, when the crop is grown in a
specific habitat." I found this pretty confusing as I am neither farmer
nor biologist, but the part that made sense to me was that an organism’s contextual
characteristics are said to have a character of sorts, and this certain something is also referred
to, in the wine world in particular, as terroir. Now, having visited CA wine country several
times and paid attention in class, I’ve heard the term thrown around and I have
been curious to understand more of what terroir really means.
So I continued my search beyond the wealth of wisdom found on Wikipedia and turned to a other articles for some answers. I quickly discovered that the vast resources or opinions surrounding terroir far exceeded my ability to compose a succinct summary for this blog. However, I found one Earth Magazine article
from Southern Oregon University professor and research climatologist, Greg
Jones, to be particularly insightful about the study of terroir. Although the
whole article is worth browsing, I thought that the following excerpts were worth
highlighting:
“The concepts embodied in
terroir eventually led to the ‘appellation
d’origine contrôlée’ (AOC)
system in 1935 — a French certification system that legally delineates
geographical regions and regulates agricultural products (“produits du
terroir”). As applied to wine, this also led to the notion that a wine region
is a collection of terroirs, some better than others. The concept has spread to
other countries, including the U.S., where the regions are called American
Viticultural Areas, or AVAs.”
“The importance of
regional ties to the climate, soil and grape varieties is at the core of
terroir. However, terroir remains one of the most intriguing and perplexing
challenges in the world of wine today, largely because what terroir encompasses
is not universally understood or accepted…”
“From this call for a
better scientific understanding of terroir, scientists have identified more
than 400 aromatic compounds in wine, with most resulting from fermentation,
yeasts, grape variety and the way wine matures. So far, research has shown
very little evidence that these aromatic compounds come directly from the
climate, soil or geology. But certainly the climate, soil and geology affect
what’s grown where, so they do indirectly impact the wines in that way…”
“Climate provides the most identifiable
differences in wine styles for nearly all wine drinkers. The general characteristics of wines from a
cool climate vary distinctly from those from a hot climate. Grape varieties
best suited to a cool climate tend to produce wines that are more subtle [sic] with
lower alcohol, crisp acidity, a lighter body, and typically bright fruit
flavors. Those from hot climates tend to produce bigger, bolder wines with
higher alcohol, soft acidity, a fuller body, and more dark or lush fruit
flavors. Geology and soil do not produce these broad differences, but they do
produce the subtle expressions of these qualities within the same climate or
region…”
And the article ends on an intriguing note:
“Another
interesting question is whether the best terroirs have been found. Are
there more out there like Romanée-Conti, where a mere 1.8 hectares of land in
Burgundy planted with pinot noir can command some of the highest wine prices in
the world? And how might a changing climate affect such terroirs?”
I took away from this article (and others)
that this “concept of place reflected in the glass” (as one Wine Spectator blog post referred
to terroir) is real. Certain aspects can
even be measured, while other facets of terroir
are likely related to the sensory experience of a wine-lover and his or her glass
of wine. Combined with my own firsthand experience with wines from Hill
Country, Texas to Napa, California to Central Otago, New Zealand, I can not yet confirm that I appreciate terroir in its full context of both a science and a mysterious art form. However, I look forward to making this a lifetime pursuit J
Resources:
http://www.winespectator.com/blogs/show/id/49735
On the contrary; I'd prefer to join you in a War on Terroirism. Let's team up with some materials scientists (I happen to know one), grow grapes with hydroponic technology, and simulate whatever nuances we damn well please.
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