Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/764739
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m J a n - F e b 2 017 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 2 7 Professor of viticulture at Bor- deaux Sciences Agro, Cornelis "Kees" van Leeuwen cites Seguin as "the real godfather of the sci- entific approach to terroir." Seguin began work on terroir as early as the 1960s, and his research at Bor- deaux University suggests that soil, water availability and drain- age are the key consistent factors in great terroirs. However, later studies conducted by Seguin and van Leeuwen couldn't establish a quality link between specific soils and great wines. "In Bordeaux, top wines are produced on soils as different as alkaline limestone s o i l s ( A u s o n e ) , a c i d i c g r a v e l l y soils (Lafite), neutral gravelly soils (Cheval Blanc) and heavy clay soils (Pétrus)," says van Leeuwen, "but all these soils have a common regulation of water uptake condi- tions of the vines." He also attrib- uted Château Pétrus winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet as someone who's made "wines of terroir" for the last 50 years. While there's a general consen- sus among scientists and European Union policymakers, including the Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) and International Organization of the Vine and Wine (OIV), about what constitutes the definition of terroir, prioritizing its many factors in relation to their impact on wine flavor is very much a work in progress. including UNESCO, INAO, Le Comité Interprofessionnel de vin de Cham- pagne (CIVC) and Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB). SITE's mandate is to produce the structure of the organization, of which planning and holding future Terroir Congresses is one of the most important objectives. The next congress is planned for Zaragoza, Spain, in 2018. "For more than 20 years, this group of scientists has convened to share our research and interests in terroir," says climatologist Gregory Jones, a professor of environmen- As evidenced by the 11th Inter- national Terroir Congress, a bien- nial think tank held in different wine growing regions around the world, there's a constant stream of research bringing us closer to the scientific basis of terroir. Organized by Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Ore., and host- ed by McMinnville's Linfield College, the 2016 Terroir Congress was held in North America for the first time in July. This marked a turning point for congress organizers, who announced the formation of The Society of Inter- national Terroir Experts (SITE), a European Union nonprofit created through the support of institutions + From the very start, semantics have played a significant role in commonly held beliefs about terroir. + The AOC system, and those modeled after it (such as AVAs), was largely founded on terroir. + Prioritizing terroir's many factors in relation to their impact on wine flavor is very much a work in progress. + Climate and soil types are the most talked about factors. + The use of soil-related terms, like terroir and minerality, when referring to wine flavor, are being questioned by geologists and microbiologists, while academics and professionals are more inclined to abandon the word minerality than to relinquish their use of the term "terroir." AT A GLANCE Attendees of the 2016 Terroir Congress met for the first time in the United States in July. [Photo by Maureen Battistella] Climatologist Gregory Jones of Southern Oregon University says the Terroir Congress has grown over the past 20 years. [Photo by Ben McBee]