[tehr-WAHR] French for "soil," but in the wine world terroir encompasses much more than that. When French wine producers use the term terroir, it not only includes reference to the type of soil (chalky, claylike, gravelly, sandy) but also to other environmental factors that might influence the quality of the finished wine, such as altitude, position relative to the sun, angle of incline, and water drainage. The French and many other old world traditionalists are emphatic about the impact of terroir on wine, insisting that one can taste the difference. new world producers have not been as quick to embrace this idea, believing that viticulture and viniculture practices are what make the wine. Of course there is always the middle ground. It has become evident that the grapes from some vineyards in the New World result in better and more distinctive wines, and those grapes are sought after by winemakers. It's also true that from the same terroir some French producers create much higher quality wines and that there are stylistic differences introduced by winemakers even in wines of similar quality. See also goût in Glossary of Wine Tasting Terms, page 613. See also climat.

Wine Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2003 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.