Terroir

Terroir is a French word that gets bandied about a great deal in the wine world. Some people do not like the word as it can be heard by the listener as sounding pretentious or snobbish. Unfortunately, there is no English translation that can convey the full meaning.

Terroir is typically explained as being a sense of the unique place but it really goes beyond the geography to include climate, soil subsurface, and other factors of all types that make this place different from all other places.

Pronunciation: terroir = terr-woir

Much is made of wine expressing the unique sense of the vineyard. Some scientists scoff at the idea of the wine exhibiting various trace flavors on the basis that concentration is too low for human perception. However, it is beyond dispute that the same varietal grown in different places will taste differently. It is also widely acknowledged that a varietal from the same region will exhibit certain common characteristics.

Indeed, this is the idea behind the establishment of American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) which allows for the designation of the vineyard location as, for example, a Napa Valley Appellation Cabernet or a Sub-Appellation as, for example, a Mount Veeder Cabernet or an Oakville Cabernet, which are very different wines from very different places, although both are located in Napa Valley.

Terroir comes up most often with Pinot Noir, which is the most “transparent” of all the varietals. Pinot seems to remember and exhibit everything that happens to it. One winemaker calls it the “elephant wine” due to its extraordinary “memory”.

The idea of terroir is behind our approach to making Pinot Noir. We want a lineup of four to five or more single vineyard Pinots each expressing their unique sense of place.

Cheers,

Dave