concept of terroir

[Thomas]

Steve,

As you might suspect, I disagree some.

Re, the Loring comment: true, to a point. When the grapes are allowed to hang for what I consider to be over-ripeness--a lot of sugar to produce high alcohol along with acids that drop to seriously low level or high pH--terroir may still be in there somewhere, but it certainly takes a back seat. And then, when the water that had dehydrated out on the vine is added back to get the alcohol to some resemblance of balance, and the oak aging does its magic, the terroir would have to be King Kong to be successful at fighting back.

I've tasted scores of wines from the world over that leave me wondering not only from which region they had been produced, but from which continent, and that has been mainly because the growing and winemaking techniques employed have brought the products to a like-point, terroir be damned.

Not that I disagree about it being hard for a winemaker to obliterate terroir--but a lot of producers seem bent on trying and then when they succeed they either claim terroir is a myth or the results of their manipulation is their terroir.

As far as I am concerned, producers can produce however they want, and consumers can consume whatever they want. I prefer minimal intervention (notice I said minimal, which means I accept that all winemaking is a form of intervention).

Hey--do you sell wine books at your shop? I have a new one coming out in July.



[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 01-05-2006).]