What the hell does Terroir really mean?

[Cowboyin Blake]

Reading some books on wine...and none can really give me a good description of TERROIR...anyone give me a good def and maybe an example or two? Thanks

[hotwine]

Terroir is the natural environment in which grapes are grown..... soil conditions, exposure to the sun and prevailing winds during the growing season, influence of coastal breezes, lattitude... all of that sort of thing falls under the general heading of terroir. Sometimes broken down into microclimates.... Sonoma has a different microclimate from Napa, and both are vastly different from West Texas. You can put your finger on a point on a globe and move it directly east or west along a single line of lattitude, but terroir will be different for each point along that line.

[winoweenie]

CB basically terrior is the taste of the ground in which the grapes are grown. WW

[Bucko]

If you want to really get nitpicky, microclimate is one of the most incorrectly used words in the wine lingo according to UC Davis.

Anyone care to guess what microclimate and macroclimate really refer to?

[Innkeeper]

My definition (which will probably leave something out) is: Terroir has to do with geographical location, climate, orientation, and soil composition.

[glenora]

Bucko and all

A vineyardists perspective--

Micro-Macro climate -- almost always mis-used or misunderstood when referenced to vineyards

Miroclimate: the air space that extends from the very surface of the ground (vineyard floor) to a height where the effects of the immediate character of the underlying surface no longer can be distinguished from the general local climate--in a a vineyard situation this space is usually limited the area within the canopy, or between the vines--with plants this is often referred to a phytoclimatology

Macroclimate: The large-scale climate of a large area such as a region or a country

Probably the best term to describe a viticultural area probably would be "mesoclimate" which is the climate of a natural region of small extent, for example a valley.

[hotwine]

The vineyardist's perspective is best. Thanks, Gene.

[winoweenie]

WOW Gene I dint' know that! Tankee. WW

[wondersofwine]

Prefacing this by saying that I am no expert,
some examples of terroir would be the "Rutherford dust" flavor in some Napa Cabernet Sauvignon grown in the vineyards along the Rutherford Bench (a geological feature with deep alluvial soils that drain well); a cherry cola flavor element common to some Carneros Pinot Noirs; the difference between a full-bodied meaty red Burgundy from Nuits-St-Georges and a more velvety smooth (some say feminine) red Burgundy from Volnay; the flintiness of many Chablis (from the Chardonnay grape), etc.

[wondersofwine]

BTW Cowboy, you are asking some good questions. Keep them coming.

[Cowboyin Blake]

Thanks Wonders....this place is a Well of Knowledge on wine...i just started becoming serious about wine and I am starting to realize the art and beauty of it... I will never be able to look at it as just a "drink"

[Bucko]

Give Gene a cigar! He was awake in class that day. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]

[Drew]

Terroir = How the grape expresses it's lineage after growing up in vineyard X (soil and such)combined with it's specific vintage conditions (weather, climate etc.)

Drew