Actually, this post is about terroir, not terriers (French for “earth dog” because they chase rodents into burrows). As you can tell, they share the same root – terra, which means earth or land.
That is essentially what terroir is – a sense of place expressed in wine. It also applies to coffee and tea. Say it with me. “Ter-whah”. Good, now you speak French.
This is a much-discussed word and no precise English equivalent exists. Major components of terroir include: Climate – sunshine, temperature and rainfall – all these will determine how the grapes will ripen and therefore how the wine will taste. Wines from warmer climates tend to be juicier because the grapes get more ripe. You can break this down further, too, to include the enviornment right around the canopy (the part of the vine above the ground) and it’s called microclimate. Take it another step and you have mesoclimate, which refers to the environment of the particular vineyard – its aspect, elevation, slope, distance to water, soil types, etc. The local grape varieties play an important role, too. Some grapes simply perfom better than others in certain areas. Other human decisions, such as selecting yeast cultures and certain winemaking practices will also affect the terroir. Some winemakers may choose to use ambient or wild yeasts in their winemaking to enhance the terroir. The use of oak has the potential to downplay the impact of terroir.
The idea of terroir has formed the backbone of the appellation system in France – the idea that wines from particular areas are unique. Winemakers in Burgundy do not believe they are making Pinot Noir that happens to be grown in Burgundy, but rather, that they are producing Burgundian wines that happen to be made from Pinot Noir. They consider themselves wine growers as opposed to wine makers. This idea spread to the rest of the Europe, so that winemakers outside of Tuscany can’t make a wine from Sangiovese and call it Chianti.
Terroir also plays into the debate over Old World vs. New World wines. Do mass-produced wines adjusted to American palates reflect any particular terroir? If you have a super-ripe Cabernet Sauvignon in your glass, would you be able to tell if it’s from California, South Africa, Chile or Australia?
Let’s practice using it in a sentence or two, so you’ll never be intimidated by the word again. “I prefer Old World wines because they reflect a greater sense of terroir” or “The blue slate soils of the Mosel valley in Germany are partially responsible for the unique terroir of the region, imparting a strong mineral character to the wines.”
A Thirsty Spirit 
That dog looks like it couldn’t catch fleas much less a rodent.
Does the terroir change over time? If the wine embodies the “place” does the wine eventually reflect things like climate change or proximity to big post-bauhaus constructions?
Good question. A producer from a classic region in France like Bordeaux or Rhone might argue no and attribute any variability in the wine to the vintage instead of to the changing terroir. I went to a lecture where a prominent producer in Alsace was speaking and he acknowledged the impacts of climate change – he changed his winemaking techniques so that we would still accurately reflect his terroir.
But you could argue that the winemaker changed his techniques to reflect the old terroir and that it was actually changing.
The concept of vintage is interesting – it’s like you triangulate vintage, terroir and grapes/technique to fully describe the wine.
yeah! it is really interesting. Doesn’t the vintage reflect the changing terrior? I don’t think I actually understood the broader meaning of ‘vintage’ until it was put in this context. Is this why wine has such an important place in mythology? You open a bottle and it reflects not just a place but an era. Wine holds an incredible amount of human information. Wow!
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Hi Alexis,
I was in a class at FCI with you at the end of last year, and I was wondering if you could provide a few recommendations. I will be going to southern France early this summer, and I’d like to include 4-5 days of winery touring/tasting. We will be spending the last portion of our trip in the French Riviera, so I was thinking that we may spend the first few days in The Rhone Valley, Burgundy and/or Provence. Do you have recommendations for any wineries in those regions? We just want to meet interesting people, taste great wine, eat amazing food and enjoy! Our main goal is to avoid touristy operations. Any direction you could give would be most helpful. Thank you very much!
What fun! Some suggestions:
Famille Quiot Wines
(brands such as Vieux Lazaret, Domaine Houchart and Domaine du Trignon)
http://www.famillequiot.com/visite.php?idDom=4&langue=en
Jean Noel-Gagnard
http://domaine-gagnard.com/5
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