You may have heard of the commonly used French term, ‘terroir’ (pronounced tare-wire). Well, there’s no direct translation into English. It’s really a French word used specifically in the wine industry. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it relates to ‘a sense of place’, but generally speaking, it’s understood to mean the combination of factors that influence the grapes when on the vine and therefore help determine the end product that ends up being washed gleefully down your gullet.

Terroir purely deals with ‘where‘ – the location of the vines. It does not consider human interaction in the vineyard. It’s the total natural environment a grape is grown in. There are three main factors to explore.

Soil: The soil in Champagne tends to be chalky, while in Germany’s Mosel the vineyards are full of pebbles. The best wines come from soils that are very well drained, and furnish a steady, but only moderate, water supply to the vines. Studies at Chateauneuf-du-Pape have shown the benefits of stone cover in improving temperatures and fruit ripening. The colour of the soil and the composition of pebbles and stones affect temperature absorption and retention. Surprisingly, the best soils for grape growing also lack good nutritional value. This helps restrict growth, leading to fewer, smaller berries and ultimately better quality grapes.

Macro-climate: Also known as regional climate, put simply, it is the rainfall received and temperature range experienced in a large scale area or region. Fairly obvious. Too much rain can lead to bloated grapes, too little and the vines could die. Too hot, and the grapes may ripen too quickly and too early, whereas if it’s too cold, they may not ripen at all. This is what makes some vintages better than others. In Bordeaux, you will get exceptional years of almost perfect weather conditions, and in others, the summer may never arrive – as we’re all to used to in Ireland, eh?

Micro-climate: Zoom down onto ground level and you have a mini climate. If there is heat absorbed by the soil during the day it should keep the air around the vines warmer at night. To be precise, this is known as canope micro-climate. There are micro-climates on or close to the surfaces of individual leaves, grape bunches, or even berries. It exists at various positions or depths within the soil. The best results are usually attained depending on the aspect of the vines to the sun. The higher points of the vineyard will also be cooler, but may provide uninterrupted sunlight during the day for perfect ripening.

The Old World countries, like France and Italy, generally believe terroir to be the most important factor influencing the quality of your wine, whereas, if pushed, the Aussie’s and the Kiwi’s will say that human intervention has the biggest influence. Next week is where the fun begins. We’ll explore human intervention and you can decide what you think is more important.

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