Archive for the ‘Terroir’ Category

Jun 6, 2016

Coming Soon To Wine—Replicating Terroir in the Bottle

It appears that one day, probably in my lifetime, people in labs will have the capability of replicating perfectly any bottle of wine made anywhere on the planet. That is to say, science is moving us closer to the day when a bottle of DRC, Petrus, Screaming Eagle or any other wine can be perfectly duplicated in a lab—all the way down to the texture, aroma and taste. When this happens it will not be the first time that ingenuity…

May 31, 2016

In Pursuit of the Top Five New Wine Organizations

With the In Pursuit of Balance organization shuttered and the American wine world now completely unbalanced again, it occurs that there is room and need for new organizations to form within the wine industry. My candidates for new organizations follow: 1. Association For the Advancement of Wine Forgers (AFAWF) Anyone who followed the recent controversy concerning the Baghera Auction in Geneva and the alleged forged bottles that Don Cornwell identified simply by looking at the pictures of the bottles in…

Apr 4, 2016

Terroir is a Myth

The idea that “Terroir” is the source of fine wine flavor is a myth. This is according to Professor Mark Matthews at the University of California, Davis in his new and controversial book: “Terroir and Other Myths of Winemaking.” As the title of this new book implies, the myth of terroir is only part of Matthews’ investigation. This post wants to explore only that part of Matthews’ new work that addresses terroir. In “Terroir and Other Myths of Winegrowing”, Matthews…

Mar 21, 2016

It’s Just Not True—Five Wine Myths

Very recently I’ve bumped up against a variety of statements and opinions that are presented as facts. Most have been circulating for some time and have recently raised their ugly head in one form or another. Others are relatively recently developed ideas. In every case, these statements and opinions are myths Consolidation is Putting the Wine Industry in Corporate Hands This is a huge myth that somehow keeps spreading and is almost always discussed whenever a winery of note changes…

Nov 19, 2014

Grapes, Not Wines, Are Impacted by AVAs

  There is a good case to be made that when comparing the French Appellation d’Origine Controlee (AOC) system with the American Viticultural Area (AVA) system, it is the American system of delineating grape growing regions that is far more invested in the theory of terroir than the French AOC system. This point concerning the relative commitment to terroir has been driven home to me while doing some work with the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance, which is currently in the…