Terroir —
the very word brings an ache of fear, and a trailing smile of knowing and mystery.
It is first too close in language to the terrible topic of the day, but then
swirls into history, culture, science and some fun. We started the summer of
2004 (in the Northern Hemisphere) with the June issue devoted to vacation shrines
with geological underpinnings. Following the crackerjack July Highlights issue,
it seems fitting that we should take a moment to sit back and reflect on the
progress of the summer with an issue on fine wine.
Inspired by a session on the topic of geology and wine at the fall meeting of
the Geological Society of America and by what seems to be a burgeoning body
of literature on the topic, we put together a suite of stories — a beautiful
blend of serious science and cultural art. Happy sipping!
In our lead feature story, “Understanding the Mysteries of the Grape,”
Larry Meinert notes that “terroir involves the complex interplay of climate,
soil, geology and culture” in influencing the characteristics and quality
of wine. He goes on to emphasize the importance of understanding the physical
environment. To illustrate his point, he makes reference to the glacial sediments
and loess deposits, and weathering and soil profiles of famous wine districts
in Washington, New York, France and New Zealand.
In the second feature story, Gregory Jones hones in on one very important factor
of terroir — climate. In “Making Wine in a Changing Climate,”
Jones described climate as the wild card that limits the geographical distribution
of grapes and determines yield and quality differences between years and regions.
Research by Jones and his colleagues has shown an increase in temperature over
the past 50 years in the majority of the world’s high quality wine-producing
regions, generally improving vintage ratings. Projected average temperature
increases over the next 50 years, however, for the same wine regions, find that
the varieties currently grown there will be at or near the upper limit of their
ripening potential, resulting in decreased wine quality. When that starts to
happen, global warming will really have captured public attention! That is,
if the recent besting of English sparkling wines over French champagne in taste
tests hasn’t already done so.
In our final wine feature, Susan Hubbard and Yoram Rubin emphasize the importance
of localized geologic variations in vineyards and their impact on the amount
and timing of water demand by vine roots and the significance to grape yield
and quality. The authors discuss potential applications of techniques such as
multi-spectral remote sensing and ground penetrating radar to “precision
agriculture,” including field tests that have been run at the Robert Mondavi
and Dehlinger wineries in California.
Our Geologic Column this month also comes from the vineyards of California.
In “California Wines: Well-Shaken and Stirred,” Susan Hough, a Geotimes
corresponding editor, spotlights California’s improbable coincidence of
renowned terroir, temblors and teeming Homo sapiens. Or is it so improbable?
Aren’t regions of great terroir generally great places to live, and don’t
most places have great geology?
Earth science and terroir might just be the perfect pair. The former weaves
together climate, hydrology, landscape, soil, cultural practices and the patience
of time, and the latter benefits more beneficially from the same characteristics
than anything else we have learned to sip.
Believe your compass, but don’t mix navigating with wine!
Samuel S. Adams
Geotimes Editor-in-Chief
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