Have you ever heard someone refer to terroir when discussing a wine? Terroir, pronounced terr-wAh-r is a French word that explains the effect of the climate, soil type, elevation, and geographic orientation of a vineyard on the grapes and characteristics of the resulting wine. Basically, terroir sums up the environmental factors that make one wine taste different from another, even if both wines were made from the same grape varietal and grown in the same region.
You can use terroir to talk about both red and white wines, top quality rosés (like a Tempier Bandol) and some sparkling wines, including Champagne. Additionally, it’s common to hear it used as an explanation for why particular vineyards are so prized, given they may have specific soil types or microclimates that lead to exceptional wine.
People also sometimes say a particular wine has a goût de terroir. This means you can taste the soils where the grapes were grown in the flavor profile of the wine itself. For example, Chablis can have a flinty minerality and tongue on stone finish to it – a real goût de terroir.
Examples of terroir
An example of how terroir applies to red wine can be found in the Beaujolais region of France. There are ten Beaujolais Crus which are the highest quality level for Beaujolais wines. They are all made from the Gamay grape but each Cru wine comes from a different village. The villages have generally similar land, nonetheless, some are further south, others are at higher elevations and there are specific minerals present in particular slopes. These factors are what sets a Fleurie, with its eastern facing vines, apart from a Morgon, with its blue rock soils. Terroir is what makes each Cru unique.
But terroir isn’t a term that only applies to the historic old world vineyards of France. Take two red wines that are 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from California’s Napa Valley. The average daily temperatures in the north of Napa are four to six degrees higher than in the south where the climate is affected by cooler winds and more fog off of San Francisco Bay. Napa Valley also has some of the most diverse soils in the world. A wine from the north will typically be higher in alcohol, richer and more forward in its fruit. In the south, the Cabernet Sauvignon has more restraint and tends to be higher in acidity and lower in alcohol. You’ll find additional variation depending on if the wine comes from a hillside, alluvial plain or valley floor plot. A single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa is a true expression of the land where it is from. That’s one reason why single vineyard wines tend to be so expensive!
Regions where terroir is important
From the Premier and Grand Crus vineyards of Burgundy to the contrade of Mount Etna, you’ll find soil and microclimate conditions are significant anywhere in the world where they make wine, but particularly in areas where land has been divided up into smaller parcels or sub regions associated with particular characteristics.
3 Aspects of place that contribute to terroir
- Climate. The climate in a winemaking region plays a role in which grapes can be planted in an area, but also how the resulting wine tastes. You can have hot and cold climates. The amount of heat, rainfall and drought the vines are subjected to, how windy it is and humidity are all key factors.
- Soil. The mineral composition in a place can impact the flavor profile of a wine. Whether an area has sandy or clay soils also affects how the land drains, which determines which grape varieties will be successful there.
- Elevation / terrain. Elevation affects temperature, sun exposure, wind and even soil composition. For example, you often find variation in wines that come from different parts of a hillside. If a vineyard is in a valley or on a south facing slope, this can all impact how the grapes develop their sugars and acidity.
Is winemaking part of terroir?
When you talk about terroir you’re usually not referring to the winemaking process. However, vines naturally have multiple strains of yeasts that exist on the skin of their grapes. Yeast is a microorganism that converts the sugars in grapes to alcohol, making wine. Microbes and microorganisms do count as environmental factors and the winemaking process can become significant if during production these yeasts are allowed to naturally ferment the wine. They’ll give the wine more complexity and a unique taste specific to the place where the grapes were grown. Note, this is what sets many smaller Beaujolais AOC wines apart from large-scale producers who use commercial yeast.
Other environmental factors that might affect a wine
Some people explain subtle differences in honeys based on the wildflowers growing in the area that the bees are pollinating. A similar effect may be found for certain wines where specific fruit orchards are found in close proximity to vineyards and seem to lend aspects of their flavor. You’ll note cherry is a common flavor in Valpolicella wines from Italy and cherry is also the dominant fruit crop in the region.
What else can you use terroir to talk about?
From whiskey to maple syrup, terroir isn’t just a term used in the wine industry. You’ll find it also applies in contexts where the local land, weather patterns and cultivation techniques can explain specific characteristics of a product, like:
- Whisky
- Cider
- Cheese
- Coffee
- Tea
- Maple syrup
