Is This Bottle Corked__ The Secret Life of Wine - Kathleen Burk [7]
What is terroir, and should we care?
TERROIR is one of those words that can only be translated by a sentence. For the more mystical among French winemakers and their equivalents in other countries, it is almost the spirit of the place, incorporating any and everything that makes up or influences a vineyard. Let us imagine that you want to buy a good vineyard, and, after due consideration of what is on offer—both in the market and in your bank account—you visit your choice. Stand in the middle of it: what do you see and feel? There’s the climate, for one. In fact, it’s for three, because grape growers divide it into macroclimate, which covers a region; mesoclimate, which covers a vineyard; and microclimate, which covers a vine. Is it hot, warm, cool, or cold, or a combination? Then there’s the soil: what is it made of, and can water drain through it easily—most vines prefer keeping their feet dry—but can it retain just enough water for when the vine needs it? There’s the altitude: is it high up or low down? There’s the aspect: is it on a hillside—often better—or on flat land? How many hours of sunlight does a season provide, and how much warmth does the vineyard retain at night? Are there small rocks that are heated during the day and then radiate this warmth onto the vines at night? Is it near bodies of water, which moderate the heat or cold? In short, terroir refers to all of the natural elements of a place. This means that the place matters. Furthermore, it means that some places are better than others. And most of all, it means that wines made from grapes grown in the best terroirs can command much higher prices than those wines made by less fortunate proprietors.
Many growers and winemakers in the New World continue to deny that such a thing exists. Some years ago, a California farmer reputedly insisted that it is all just dirt: give the wine-maker the grapes and he or she will make good wine. Certainly, size can make a difference as to whether or not you have a terroir to celebrate, in that the owner of a thousand-acre ranch in Australia spread out over a flat terrain is more likely to dismiss the concept than the Burgundian owner of four hectares whose soil differs markedly from that of the vineyard across the road. Nevertheless, it is the case that increasing numbers of New World winemakers are now, rightly, insisting on the quality of their own terroirs.
So the real question is not “What is terroir?” but “Does terroir matter?” Except for the wrapped-up and blindfolded, it must be clear to any human being that terroir exists. After all, why plant grapes in one field, cotton in another, and wheat in another? It is because the conditions are right for the respective crops. Can the winemaker really overcome obstacles provided by grapes that are not quite ripe, relatively tasteless, or too watery? If he wants to provide a drinkable wine, probably so. If she wants to produce a premium wine, almost certainly not. In other words, is great wine made in the vineyard or in the winery? Will you as an owner pay more for a great vineyard or a great winemaker? If you want to make a great wine, you must first acquire the great vineyard. Without that, even a great winemaker will struggle to make a great wine. To maintain both your vineyard and your winemaker, you need your wine to command a great price. And therefore, across the world, all those who aspire to this position celebrate their unique terroirs. Desire makes believers of us all.
Why did Omar Khayyám write so much about wine?
CONSIDERING that he was one of the greatest mathematicians of the medieval period (he lived from 1042 to 1131) as well as a notable astronomer and philosopher, why did Omar Khayyám write so much about wine? As a mathematician, he has exerted an influence that still exists today. His treatise on the