What we can learn from Terroir.
Tasting is believing. How does terroir affect what we drink? Conduct your own experiment at home, OR join me for an in-person wine tasting this weekend!
What is terroir and why do people keep talking about it?
Terroir (tear-wah) is how a region’s climate, soil type, terrain, and winemaking method affect the taste of wine.
I’ve always thought of terroir like grandma’s cooking. Terroir is that special sauce, you can’t always replicate it or describe why it tastes so good. You can learn their recipe, follow each step diligently, and yet, it always tastes like something is missing. Terroir is one part magic, one part TLC, and one part science.
Close your eyes, imagine reading the label of a bottle of wine. Occasionally, that bottle will list the conditions in which it was produced. For example, “Grown on volcanic soil in high altitude, with 240 days of sunshine and cool nights." I always thought that this referred to how difficult it was to produce, not necessarily how it tastes.
However, even in this fake example of terroir—we can deduce a few things here. If it’s grown on volcanic soil, this helps retain soil heat to ripen the fruit and increase sugar content. Volcanic soil could also cause wines to taste more mineral or even smoky (think wine from Mount Etna in Italy). When it says high-altitude, the wine could taste more acidic and aromatic because higher altitude creates a cooler environment which helps retain acid in the grape. 240 days of sunshine means riper fruit, leading to fuller, bigger body wine. And lastly, cool nights ensure the grapes don’t over-ripen in spite of all the sun.
“Old World” grapes are finding new homes.
Grapes can’t be grown just anywhere, no dissimilar to any other plant. Certain grapes thrive in specific conditions and that’s how most winemakers know where to plant new vines. (Pinot Noir is infamously difficult to grow).
Take riesling for example, the most common grape planted in Germany. Riesling thrives in cool climates to help build the fruit and high acid it’s famous for.
Another region that has very similar terroir to classic German (specifically Mosel) riesling is Finger Lakes, New York. Both are cool climates and are nearby a water source to provide an added cooling effect. These ideal conditions led a few German winemakers in 60s and 70s to move to Finger Lakes to plant riesling. Now, it’s the most planted grape in Finger Lakes and considered the best riesling you can find in the states. So, that’s nice and dandy, but how does it actually taste? How does it compare to it’s German counterpart?
I’ve been thinking a lot about how fascinating it is that an identical grape grown near identical conditions can transform flavors (or even more interesting, taste identical despite being grown thousands of miles apart).
Drink local, think global.
I’ve been eager to try out local (U.S.) grapes and see how they compete against the wines we all already know and love. (Especially with the confusing, impending(?) wine tariffs that might price me out of certain bottles).
Wine in the U.S. gets a really bad rep, the most famous region people know is Napa Valley. The wine that’s in every parent’s wine-cellar, or listed for $100s at your local steakhouse (a la Caymus). Heavily-oaked, too fruity, suffers from too much flavor.
However, there’s a lot of beautiful wine being produced in the U.S. that’s starting to gain attention worldwide, in places like New York, Central California, Oregon, Washington, even New Mexico. (For instance, the wine that made me love wine is from Oregon). And that’s just scratching the surface.
Naturally, the U.S. (like much of the world) takes a lot of influence from different “Old World” regions like France, Italy, and Germany. Their influence is outsized and most wine-production outside of Western Europe has attempted to replicate their magic. This is why French grapes are the most well-known in the world, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay (top 10 most planted grapes in the world).
Ever wonder why France names their wine not after the grape, but after the region it’s grown in?
Other than pride and ego (which, may be partially true).
Sancerre, for example, is made from Sauvignon Blanc grape, grown almost everywhere in the world, but France chooses to name it after the region. Why? Well, there’s an expectation of flavors and styles in a Sancerre: it’s light, crisp, mineral, with green-fruit aromas. Differentiating itself from say, Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand which is grassy, citrus, acidic, zippy.
It’s not just the French…look to the Italians with their Sangiovese. Sangiovese (red grape) could be either a young table-wine, ready to drink from Chianti or a complex, tannic bold wine from Brunello di Montalcino. (See also Portuguese or Spanish to label some of their wines on the region, not the grape). It’s not always the rule that it must taste like so-and-so when its from a certain region but it’s helpful to let consumers know what to expect. Like going to the cinema and knowing what genre the movie is before you buy tickets for the horror movie you’re too afraid to see (that’s me).
It makes everything more complicated, but you pick up bits of info as you drink more wine.
I love trying new things and testing my palate so I wanted to conduct a blind tasting experiment to see if I can discern any difference or similarities between newcomers and their predecessors. Taste side-by-side your favorite Old World wines and look for another, newer region that grows the same grape. Grab a friend to buy that other bottle, make it a party!
What does Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand taste like vs. Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé (both French regions)? How about Pinot Grigio from Italy or Pinot Gris from Oregon? Or Tempranillo from Spain vs. Portugal’s Tinta Roriz (Portuguese name for Tempranillo)?
The examples are endless but it’s wild to me how the same grape can thrive all over the world yet vary in taste with a few tweaks, or be replicated thousands of miles away from the origin. It’s like musicians making covers of the originals, you can choose to stay true or pave your own path. And we indulge in the pleasure of being able to determine which version we like best.
Try it yourself! Report back on any findings, hopefully you find something you love. Or… join me for a live, in-person event?
Talk and Taste this Saturday in Brooklyn
This Saturday (5/24), I’ll be testing this experiment at Larry’s Cà Phê and I want you to come! We’ll be comparing 6 different wines from 6 different regions. Every ticket purchased will receive 3 full pours.
Featuring top producers in the U.S. against their Old World counterparts such as:
Riesling from Finger Lakes, New York vs. Mosel, Germany
GSM Blend from Central Coast, California vs. Côtes du Rhône
And perhaps some other surprise wild-cards.
This will be a casual tasting for all levels—whether you’re deep into wine, wine-curious, or just want to hang out. There will be a short tasting demo, but mainly, I want to connect with you and chat about wine! You can RSVP here. Hopefully I’ll see you there.
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