- Bottoms Up (RSS)A few words on terroir
By Jessica Yadegaran
Monday, March 16th, 2009 at 6:23 pm in Corkheads.
Back from furlough. You know, that thing where you stay home and pretend you’re on vacation even though you don’t have a dime to spend. In fact, you’re losing dimes. Around 6,000, to be exact.
I had lots of time on my hands so here’s something to ponder. More and more, I find myself scratching my head at New World tastings. I’m looking for the soil. I’m looking for it to speak to me, to tell me where it’s from and why it’s different from its inland neighbor or coastal cousin.
But, with the exception of Rutherford, some parts of Sonoma and Santa Barbara counties and regions in Australia where there are eucalyptus trees nearby, here’s the rub: If you have too much fruit, you may not have terroir. The fruit, however gorgeous, covers it up.
Someone presented this idea to me and it’s illuminating. I can stop burning my nostril hairs inhaling 16 percent Zinfandel and just relax. Instead, I’ll grab a barbeque spare rib, lean back, take a bite, and a Big Gulp.
Happy Monday after furlough.
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March 16th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
How many ways can you lose terroir? Could it be by designer yeast, drip irrigation, over-ripened fruit, additives, fancy tannin and reverse osmosis tricks, new oak, other entries to International Style? I am a wine person first and foremost, but some wines make me search for a beer or outward to the old-school vintners of Europe. I look at the alcohol level, too. If I want Amarone levels of alcohol, I’d buy Amarone.
March 17th, 2009 at 7:55 am
[...] A few words on terroir – Bottoms Up – Beer and intoxicant in the Bay … [...]
March 17th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Or a sparkling wine. Amen, Brunobarolo.
March 17th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Well, said, Jessica. I never really thought of wine being an expression of landscape before. How many times have I opened a bottle from places Steph and I have visited and just turned on my imagination? More than I can account for, truly. It’s in the soil and air as much as it’s in the bottle and glass. Thanks for passing forward the illumination.
March 17th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Word, my brotha. Those scrumptious wines you enjoyed for weeks in the Languedoc were loaded with terroir.
March 18th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Indeed. Terroir galore.
March 21st, 2009 at 9:10 am
Must be something in the air, too. To Brunobarolo, don’t forget about the harvest timing decision, or how long to ‘let it hang’. Funny you mention Amarone, I used the same example in my recent post.
http://winey.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/sugar-high/
May 21st, 2009 at 10:49 am
Great post, thanks for sharing.