Terroir = man???
"Last Saturday, the Napa Wine Library Association held its 17th annual Varietal Seminar. This year, the program had two components: the first was a panel of viticulturists who spoke about the various terroirs of Napa Valley, and the second panel consisted of winemakers, who spoke mostly about how their careers led them to Napa Valley. There was considerable discussion about the word “terroir.” ... Bob Long (Long Vineyards) offered a definition of terroir as “the land plus the hand of man,” which better clarifies the term."
This seems totally incorrect. I can accept that terroir is partially attributed to the weather (with the land), but if you include the "hand of man"... what does that leave out from the winemaking process?
Labels: terroir, wine
Terroir
I thought this was
an interesting article posted on the WineReviewOnline. Terroir is one of those concepts that is easy to understand cerebrally but hard to understand on a sensory level. I think one has to try a lot of wine in order to recognize terroir of a vineyard or appellation.
I think the author is trying to create a story. I think terroir is real but I also enjoy blended wines. I don't think there are many people who would say blended wines are worse than terroir-centric wines - his so-called "terroir snobs". Sure there are people who prefer wines where they can identify terroir, but I bet they respect the winemaking abilities if winemakers making blends.
For example, I enjoy both single vineyard and blended wines from one of my favorite wineries -
Siduri. Their
Pisoni single vineyard Pinot Noir is always a special wine, which I think is based on its vineyard terroir. On the other hand, for pure drinking enjoyment, they make regional blends (like the Russian River Valley blend) that are very tasty.
I would encourage people to try both types of wines, but look for the terroir when you taste wines from a specific region. Being able to understand the signatures of vineyards/regions/wineries is very rewarding -- it is the point when the brain and the tongue meet.
Labels: opinion, terroir, wine
