They stole our idea!
January 16th, 2009
Terroir
The concept that unique geological and climatological characteristics of a particular spot on the planet come together in synergy to create sublimely perfect conditions for the cultivation of a given crop whose distinct character then distinguishes it above all others is not unique to the world of wine. It is used in marketing campaigns to distinguish and sell produce from competing parts of the world.
I am a believer in terroir and its expression - even if others feel they cannot describe or detect it. It goes back to my childhood. I remember that the cherries in my grandparents’ village tasted very different from those grown in my village (a few miles away).
From Humboldt weed, Virginia tobacco to Idaho potatoes, California raisins and Bavarian hops, producers and enthusiasts of all sorts of produce and crops have recognized and embraced the concept of terroir without actually using the word.
The terroir concept has been instrumental in branding and is frequently economically motivated (Russian River Valley expansion, anyone?). This can raise the risk of making the brand equity of a particular place’s terroir paper-thin (particularly given the current wine making practices). In fact, the role of the human hand has been an awkward topic for terroir purists. Case in point: Brettanomyces in Burgundy and Rhone.
Nevertheless, even is a consumer does not perceive or appreciate a “somewhereness” in a wine, beer, a nectarine or apple, they should be able to recognize the offerings from two different places as somehow distinct and different. So they should be able to tell that a Paso Robles cabernet is distinct from a Napa, Long Island, Chilean or Bordeaux offering. That is, unless, any distinguishing characteristics are beaten out of the fruit.
The role of the human hand has had trouble fitting into the concept of terroir for this reason. It has led some to deny the existence of terroir. Personally, I think that in the US there are regional differences in winemaking techniques and approaches which are entirely separate from the character of the place where the fruit is grown. Those elevage decisions are not dictated by the character or condition of the fruit - which are more directly related to the soil, climate and vintage. For this reason, the term “somewhereness” has had much more success as a concept.
Things like potatoes, apples, avocados or spinach don’t face these issues largely because they are consumed in essentially unprocessed form. They can be marketed as “the best” based on the merit of the place where they are grown. Even hops (and it could be argued, rice for sake) don’t do through the amount of transformation and processing as grapes used in even the most hands-off wines do.
The fact is that you can’t take terroir out of the grape but you can very easily remove it from finished wine. If terroir is going to be used as a selling point of a wine, it should be evident in the finished product.
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