Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/101495
JANUARY NEWS Exploring the Science of Terroir Science may support link between climate and wine quality���not soil-minerality D avis, Calif.���Experts at the Terroir 2012 conference held in November at the Robert Mondavi Institute (RMI) at the University of California, Davis, indicated terroir and wine character are more directly linked to climate than to soils or other vineyard site factors. A panel session titled ���New Research on the Terroir of Wine��� included scientists who discussed terroir in relation to their studies in geology and climatology as well as winemakers who discussed terroir based on their experiences with grapegrowing and winemaking. Alex Maltman, a grapegrower, winemaker and professor of earth sciences at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth, U.K., has published articles and lectured about the role of geology in wine, beer and whisky. Maltman is known for his observation that science does not support the concept of ���minerality��� in wine. He said the term minerality is relatively new as a wine descriptor, but it has ���exploded in the popular wine press (particularly over the past 1015 years) and is now one of the most widely used wine descriptors.��� He acknowledged that grapes grown in different locations have different soils and geological substrates, and they can produce wines with different characteristics. The idea that vines can absorb soil minerals and elements unique to their site may seem logical on the surface, but in reality the process is much more complex and difficult to predict or prove. Maltman explained that 24 W in es & V i ne s JANUARY 20 13 rocks and soil must undergo reactions���often water-driven���for elemental particles to become soluble. They would then have to be transported to a vine���s roots before being transported into various parts of the grapevine. Assuming these mineral elements make it into the grapes, they would then go through fermentation and other wine-processing operations that would likely offset or mask any character the minerals could have. ���Terroir is...something we can debate. It���s an idea and a concept, not something to be proved or disproved.��� ���Andy Erickson, winemaker, Favia Wines ���The term minerality is now entrenched, so it���s too late to turn back the tide, but the term should be used as a metaphor, not as something directly derived from soil minerals where the vine is located,��� he said. Maltman later suggested a project to collect soil types from different locations, place the soils in separate but uniform containers and SEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #F4