It’s all about #TERROIR
Terroir is a wine word used to describe the specific characteristics of the place where wine grapes are grown. There are many facets to TERROIR with one of those being the soils present in the vineyards. Pictured above are many different soils with varying textures, mineral content and water retaining/ draining capabilities from California to South Africa to the entire Italian peninsula.
Depending on the other aspects of TERROIR (overall climate with seasonal weather influences, altitude with surrounding landscape such as slope of the land, amount of sunshine vs cloud cover, breezes, daily temperature variation, etc…) different soils are beneficial to the vineyards and grapes that grow in them. The ability to retain moisture in an arid climate and freely drain moisture in a humid / rainy one is crucial. The ability to retain and reflect heat back onto the grapes in a cold climate is equally as important. The mineral content of the soils imparts different character to the grapes grown on them.
As you can see above the soils vary from red to white to black, from large stones and fine clays, from volcanic ash to marine fossils.
Soils are just one of the many different variables that impart their character on a finished wine.
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