What is Terroir?

Terroir is a catch all term that is used in wine to kind of mean anything to anyone, but if you hear the term how should you go about thinking about it and defining it? And why is it that so many people in wine can’t shut up about it?

Like we mentioned, terroir can be a catch all term. It is a French word without a real English translation. Looking at the word you’d rightfully think that it has something to do with the land, that is a big part of it but not quite the whole thing. Terroir encompasses everything that can affect grapes in a vineyard. Soil is the most obvious, but other things include are; slope, aspect, water availability, climate, wind patterns, proximity to a major body of water, ocean currents and even some farming practices are considered part of the terroir. Needless to say, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what terroir is.

In certain wine growing regions of the world, especially flatter regions like Bordeaux, a whole village may share very similar terroir. However, in other regions like Burgundy or the Russian River Valley in Sonoma the terroir can be noticeably different in just a couple hundred feet. Some grapes as well are much more susceptible to these minute changes than others. While Cabernet Sauvignon certainly has sites it prefers it tends to taste like Cab no matter where it is, Pinot Noir on the other hand can very drastically in both flavor and price when planted in different terroirs. Back to Burgundy, home to many unique terroirs, and Pinot Noir, so you can find wines grown 500ft from each other and one may cost $50 a bottle and the other $500. Terroir is everything to these guys.

So why do so many people in wine seem to drone on about it? Sometimes it is because they have a unique spot that makes their wines especially delicious and valuable. Sometimes it is simply good marketing, “oh yeah, we’ve got the best terroir around!” It can be hard to wade through some of the hype of terroir to try to figure out what exactly is going on but stop at your nearest Crown and we can help you tune out all the noise and get a great wine from a respectable spot!