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French Wine Explorers Wine e-Newsletter
www.wine-tours-france.com - September/October 2005

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This month's wine explorations:

Terroir: Fact or Fiction?
Syrah and Grenache: the Rhone's Great Reds
On the Wine Route: Burgundy 2005 Harvest
Check out Another Great Wine Newsletter

Terroir: Fact or Fiction?

Say the word "terroir" to a wine lover, and you're likely to get one of two reactions: either a reverent, affirmative nodding of the head ("ah, yes"), or an exasperated rolling of the eyes ("ugh, not that again!"). It seems that the debate over the importance of terroir, or the lack of importance, is in high gear, particularly now that so-called "New World" winemakers (particularly those in California) have decided that terroir is "where it's at" in the scheme of modern winegrowing.

"Where it's at" is precisely the point of terroir. This very French concept purports that the place where the grapes are grown is what gives a particular wine its style and flavor (its "typicity", as wine professionals call it). And that place is very specific, usually a single vineyard or parcel of land, or an appellation if you're in the "Old World" (an area delimited by the government as being recognized for its specific type of terroir). So far, so good - not too many people would argue with the idea that wines from Margaux have a different character than those from Pomerol. But it's when you ask for a more specific definition of terroir that ideas start to diverge. Many people think that the word terroir, which has no exact English translation (the closest term would be "territory"), refers to the type of soil present in a particular vineyard. They would therefore assert that grapes grown in a clay soil, for example, have a different character than those grown in a chalky soil. In Chablis (northern Burgundy, famous for steely dry white wines), for example, winemakers will swear that it's the particular type of limestone soil and bedrock, made from millions of tiny, fossilized shells, that give the wines their characteristic minerality. It's what the French call the "gout du terroir" (the taste of the terroir). And indeed, when you taste the wines, you'd swear it were true. But no scientific test to date has been able to establish any direct relationship between the soil type and the character of the wines made from grapes grown in that soil. One of the mysteries of wine? Perhaps - or it could be that this definition of terroir is too narrow.

The Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (I.N.A.O.), the governing body of the French appellation system, has a broader definition of terroir. They define it as the set of physical characteristics of a delimited territory, namely the topography (altitude, degree of slope, etc.), soil, subsoil, grape varieties that have been traditionally grown there, climate, exposure to the sun, degree of water present, climate and microclimate . . . PLUS "the hand of man". That is, the characteristics of the human intervention in this particular territory (most notably traditions of grape production and winemaking in common usage over the centuries, and use of a particular name for that delimited territory). In more simple terms, the terroir is the sum of all the factors that make a place unique and original (thus the name "appellation d'origine"), and that make the wine that comes from grapes grown in that particular place unique and original.

The idea is that winemakers and vintages come and go, but that if one observes traditional winegrowing and winemaking rules, grapes from a particular place will always produce a wine with a recognizable style and taste. In its largest sense, the effect of all of the different natural factors on the grapes produced in a particular place is hard to deny. Climate is certainly a huge determining factor in wine style, and belies the concept that grape variety is really what determines the style of the wine (a more New World idea). Just taste a Chardonnay from Burgundy and compare it with another from Provence, or from California or Australia, and you have four very differently styled wines. Where the concept gets contentious is at the more local level. Burgundy is often used as the prime example of the effect of terroir from one parcel of land, or vineyard, to another. In this area, single grape varieties are used (Pinot Noir for the reds, Chardonnay for the whites), so that only leaves winemaking techniques and/or terroir to account for the differences in style and taste between appellations. If one tastes two different wines from two vineyards that are located right next to each other, and that have gone through exactly the same vinification, one often finds a marked difference between the styles. It is difficult to not attribute the difference in this case to the slight differences in microclimate, slope, drainage and exposure to the sun that influence the degree of ripeness of the grapes (in other words, the terroir).

All this is not to say that man has no influence on the style of wine; of course he does. A great terroir provides raw material and potential; it is up to man to use that potential to make a great wine. But this is where New World and Old World winemaking philosophies have often differed. It was often the practice in New World wineries to decide on the style of wine one wanted to make, and then to use winemaking techniques to make that style of wine. In the Old World, one started with a terroir and, with as little intervention as possible, allowed the terroir to "express itself", thereby creating a certain style of wine. But these lines between Old and New World thought have become increasingly blurred in recent years. With more and more communication and sharing of techniques between countries, many New World winemakers (many of whom come from, or studied in, the Old World) have become interested in terroir-driven winemaking. On their side, more and more Old World winemakers have visited (and have received visitors from) the New World, and are using more modern winemaking techniques to produce wines that have a style that is independent from the terroir in which the grapes were grown. In the end, we will likely see these two concepts living happily side by side, and it'll be up to the consumer to determine whether terroir is important in his choice of wines to buy and drink.

Compare and contrast traditional and more modern wine styles in that most terroir-oriented of French wine regions, Burgundy. Our Burgundy & Champagne Prestige tour (June 12-17, 2006) combines the most prestigious estates of these two great regions, while our Great Estates of Burgundy tour (Sept. 11-15, 2006) concentrates exclusively on top wineries in the Côte d'Or. Join us!

Syrah and Grenache: The Rhone's Great Red Varieties

In sommelier school, they told us that the red wines of the Rhone Valley were very easy to understand. They said "in the North, think Syrah on a granite soil, and in the South, think Grenache on a limestone soil." 85% of Rhone wines are red, so this does seem like a very easy way to sum up the majority of Rhone wine production in one sentence. Of course, the reality is a bit more complex, but it is not an exaggeration to say that these two grape varieties play a huge role in determining the style and typicity of the region's red wines.

Syrah is the great red of the Northern Rhone, the region stretching roughly from Vienne (just south of Lyon) to Valence. It is used by itself, or vinified with just a touch of the white grape varieties Viognier (in Côte Rôtie) or Marsanne (in Hermitage). Syrah in this region produces wines that are darkly colored, tannic and have a lively acidity, with fragrant notes of violets, pepper, black currants and leather. The other great red wine appellations of the Northern Rhone are St. Joseph, Crozes Hermitage and Cornas.

In the Southern Rhone, the region lying roughly between Montelimar and Avignon, Grenache is king. The reds here are blended wines, combining the finesse and fruity/spicy aromas of Grenache with the more earthy flavors and aromas of Syrah and Mourvedre. Perhaps the greatest red of this area is Chateauneuf-du-Pape, where Grenache heads the list of 13 grape varieties that can be blended at the total discretion of the winemaker (although the reds these days are almost always made primarily from Grenache noir, Syrah and Mourvedre).

Discover these exceptional red wines on our Great Estates of Rhone & Provence tour, May 29-June 3, 2006. Early June is a beautiful time in Provence: warm enough to eat on the outdoor terrace, but cool enough to be comfortable, with lots of sunshine. This tour offers tastings at some of the region's most prestigious estates, visits to Roman ruins and charming villages, luxury hotels and gastronomic dining. Ask us for details.

On the Wine Route: Burgundy 2005 Harvest

We had the good fortune to be in Burgundy's Côte d'Or a few weeks ago just as they were just starting to bring in the 2005 vintage, and the vineyards were bustling with activity. Beneath a cloudless blue sky, men and women were picking grapes in many of the most famous appellations, as a remarkably cold and strong North wind gusted across the vineyards. The scene was nearly identical in each vineyard: the workers crouched next to the vines, cutting bunches with their secaturs into small wooden baskets or plastic buckets, then dumping the full recipients into the bigger "hôte" carried on the backs of strong men who pass through each row of vines and subsequently dump them into the truck waiting at the head of the vineyard. The pickers work amazingly fast, picking and dumping and moving like a swarm from the rear of the plot to the front, until there's nothing left and they can move on to the next plot - usually the whole affair takes only 15-20 minutes per plot, with a team of 20-30 workers.

We stopped to observe the harvesters a number of times, and stumbled upon three well-known domains. We took pictures to share with all of you, and you'll find them at: http://www.wine-tours-france.com/photosHarvest05.htm. The first was Domaine Gaunoux in Meursault, who were harvesting their plots of Puligny Montrachet. The owner's daughter was there, and her hand was sticky with grape sugar as she greeted us warmly. She brought us a bunch of Chardonnay to admire and taste, which had a really nice balance of sugar and acidity. We asked her if she was pleased with the vintage, and she smiled broadly. "Oh, oui, everything is wonderful this year. The drought and this north wind dried the grapes nicely, so the sanitary condition is perfect: no rot or fungus at all. And the maturity is excellent." We heard the same thing from everyone, although we didn't really need to ask: you could see it on their faces, and feel it in the atmosphere, which was particularly joyous and carefree.

We continued north to the Côte de Nuits, where we watched some pickers in the village appellations. In every small village, we saw trucks large and small puttering through the narrow streets, brimming with grapes, and buses filled with pickers heading to or back from the vineyards. We stopped in the little village of Vosne Romanée to see if Domaine de la Romanée Conti had starting picking yet. To our delight, they were there, harvesting in little plastic boxes with holes, a technique used by the very best estates to make sure the grapes don't crush each other, to avoid oxidation. As we watched, we saw owner Aubert de Villaine coming up the road. We greeted him (we'd met a few times before) and asked how it was going. He was in a great mood, very happy with the Richebourg they were picking and very excited about the vintage. "Why don't you go over to the winery and watch them sorting the grapes?" he told us, so of course, we took him up on the offer. There we found Bernard Noblet (the tall man at the close end of the sorting table in the photo) and his team, who were using secaturs to remove the stalks from the grape bunches before they were carried by conveyor belt into the large wooden tanks. The winery at DRC is tiny, with about 15 wooden tanks of different sizes. The smell of fresh fruit and carbon dioxide filled our nostrils as we said goodbye and continued on.

A bit further in the village, we came upon the workers of Domaine Arnoux picking a small plot that backs up into the village. Many of these workers were Polish, and they posed happily for our camera. Once again, the owners greeted us and spoke excitedly about the vintage. An elderly French gentleman came over to watch while we were there; he told the owner he was a neighbor, and came out to join in the fun and excitement of the harvest. We all stood there and chatted with the pickers and owners, a bunch of strangers united by a love of wine and the good will and festive atmosphere created by nature's abundance.

Check out the state of the next vintage on one of three wonderful tours in the weeks leading up to the 2006 harvest: Great Estates of Bordeaux (Sept. 4-9), Wines & Chateaux of the Loire (Sept. 11-15) and Great Estates of Burgundy (also Sept. 11-15). Or share in the harvest excitement (and try your hand at a little grape picking) on our special Tuscany Harvest Tour, Oct. 1-6.

Check Out Another Great Wine Newsletter

We heartily recommend the free wine newsletter "Nat Decants." It includes wine picks, articles and humor from Natalie MacLean, recently named the World's Best Drink Writer at the World Food Media Awards in Australia. There are no ads and all e-mail addresses are kept confidential. To sign up, visit http://w ww.nataliemaclean.com.

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Lauriann Greene-Sollin, Sommelier-Conseil
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