It is a word well known to connoisseurs of the wine world but of which many other people outside the sector may know little. You can find it in the intrahistory of specific bottles and also on the website of a wine cellar when defining what your products are like. But if you are one of those who do not know what is terroirWe will explain it to you in detail below because it is a more relevant term than you can imagine.
Origin and definition of "terroir"
Before replying to what is terroir we must talk about the origin of a word -"terroir"- which is nothing more than Gallicism. It was developed in the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries in France. The original word is «lands»And the Spanish denomination that we are going to define was also born from it. Why? Well, because it goes far beyond being a mere reference to the land, to the place of origin of a wine.
Starting at the beginning, the area in which a plant is grown or grown vineyard quite determines the characteristics of your grape. The one with which later wines will be made that are also influenced by the origin of their raw material. Therefore, it should be clarified since two bottles of the same wine variety can be obtained but these are never the same.
This is due to terroir, since that plot from which the wine was born enjoys some unique and unmatched features, impossible to replicate with precision. So all that set of particularities that a specific wine-growing environment has is the terroir. Is this the one define what a product looks like vinícola compared to others, although the differences are difficult to appreciate.
Factors that make up a terroir
when talking about what is terroir We cannot reduce everything to the land as such, to the place where the vineyard is cultivated. Of course the soil It is one of the main factors that define it but it is not the only one. To that composition of the land, its chemical, water, thermal and even optical properties two other essential points must be added.
The first is climate, that is, what temperatures occur in the plot, as well as the thermal oscillation, the rains, the humidity, the wind, the frosts and others Meteorological phenomena. All this influences the grapes but also the terroir itself, which can be modified or conditioned. It is what is known as pedogenesis, because that soil evolves over time.
Finally, on the other side of both factors is the human factor, which does not go unnoticed. The way of working the vineyards, the maintenance of them and others viticulturist decisions They determine that one or the other grapes are obtained to make one or the other wine later.
The winegrower, always the protagonist
Actually the vineyard worker has always been very protagonist, either by keeping the family tradition or starting a new adventure on a plot. The important thing is to know well the soil where the planting of the vid in order to choose the varieties most suitable grapes. And also assess the slopes of the land, the availability of water or take into account the groves of the boundaries.
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Those are just a few important keys to shuffle well with an essential viticulturist job from start to finish. Everything passes through his hand equally after the harvest. But in the first steps of the process it is essential that you know how is he "terroir", analyzing the macronutrients of that land, its organic matter or limestone and other defining aspects.
In conclusion, all this conditions the final result of each bottle, which is absolutely inimitable. Now you know what is terroir and the relevance it has in the wine world. Surely from this moment on you will be more intrigued to know the place of the origin of each wine! We also invite you to appreciate this factor more and discover more about it in the book Wine terroirs, by Emmanuelle Vaudour when we have the information.
