The human element in terroir is paramount, as you can have perfect conditions in all other areas, but if the winemaker(s) doesn't know what they are doing, you could have a mediocre or even a poor wine. It is a bit of over-romanticizing terroir by excluding the work people do, as it's the people that do trial and error to discover what cultivar/varietal best suits the natural environment. Great video and I love Verdicchio as well. Cheers!😄

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

Cheers, very well said and nice to meet another person crazy about Verdicchio!!!

Your comments about human intervention trumping terroir are spot on. 👍 One area where terroir really stands out is Chablis with the different soil types. But then you have the difference from oaked and stainless steel only wines. To me the SS wines really let the terroir shine. Good examples are Gilbert Picq and Louis Michel.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

Ohhh Chablis 🤤

@Blair338RUM

5 ай бұрын

@@drmatthewhorkey 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷

The only way to really determine the intensity or quality of terroir is to compare wines produced by the same methodology-biodynamic wine is generally a good place to start. A good biodynamic farmer will be able to translate the microclimate directly to the viticulture-but the drawback is wine that can be inconsistent-because it mimicks and reflects the season-so most vintners prefer to manipulate the final product for the pleasure of the consumer. Additionally, there’s levels of olfactory sensitivity-identifying varietal profiles, identifying harmony and balance, recognizing region or terroir, and finally-and most impressive-is when we can rehearse the season itself. Was the season warm, wet, dry-did the varietal ripen early, late, or struggle to reach its potential? Reading the season of the terroir into the varietal is the height of the wine experience. Aloha

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

I do believe the human element ties that all together as wine is produced depending in the weather in a vintage

I’m a firm believer in “Terroir”. But there could be desirable “Terroir”, and then the winemaker has the final measure of quality.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

Which is why i believe culture and the human element is part of it

If you want to look into terroir differences the Zuccardi Poligonos range is very interesting. For each grape they have bottlings from 3 different areas of the Uco Valley with the explicit goal of making terroir differences noticeable

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

Those wines have shown up on the channel before!

I think yeast cultures are the least discussed and least visible of the large influences on wine. They are also clearly part of terroir, especially when there is spontaneous fermentation, but cultured yeasts are also linked to the location and local wine culture. I have owned a brewery and different yeasts had tremendous effects on the end result.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

Yeast does play a huge role, where is your brewery?

@valk5045

5 ай бұрын

@@drmatthewhorkey I had a brewery in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, but we were really small and had to shut down.

Great and thoughtful. Terroir,-- Burgundy, Rheingau - Mosel -Saar -Ruwer, have very small named vineyards = different terroirs, - so you can tell which vineyard is which over the years. "Terroir" maybe the wrong word. Whatever makes one vineyard taste the same year to year, - vs different from the next vineyard over. What a reason to taste wine = to learn! The grower and all the rest matter maybe even more but are not as trackable over hundreds of years. So "Terroir schmerroir". Great wines and vineyards tell great stories over the years. No one can ever understand it all - which is so great. Many wines will live longer than a human. Montrachet vs Chevalier vs Batard - all can really age 100+ years!!! Maybe Terroir is important? Right? Love your tastings. Thanks Doc!

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

I love your statement, No one can ever understand it all - which is so great

terroir is one thing, expressing a specific vineyard is another. as an example, Champaign that was harvested at 17 brix, aged in an oak barrel and later was topped up by a sugar water and yeast and after that it was aged on a lees for years and after that to finish things off they added sugar to balance things out has very little to do with actual vineyard where the grapes came from. it is anything but an expression of vineyard but, if humans and traditions is part of terroir than it can be attributed to that. same goes for Bordeaux which usually is a blend of 74 parcels and four different verities all aged in wood, it has very little to do with expressing a specific location, its more of a stylistic Frankenstein. it is ironic because regions that scream the “terroir” the most are the ones least expressing it😅

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

LOLOLOL funny last statement

Ohhh it is an interesting subject and a confusing one. I live in Moldova and wine makers play around with a lot of different styles. Sometimes between vintages. So it can happen sometimes that you liked a style of a 2018, but then the 2019 changed direction completely and it can't be explained purely by the weather. Then you get wines from neighbouring vineyards producing different styles and in the same year. That said, I would say that Cabernet Sauvignon from Moldova USUALLY has a specific taste if made to a certain standard and the south of Moldova especially.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

I agreed that Moldovan Cab def has a certain ‘Moldovaness’ to it…

Great video again i love the difference of the flavours of the terrain make a great impact. Today Robert Parker Gives his new scoring to Casa Castillo (Casa Castillo pie franco 99 points, las Gravas 98 points, and one of my favourite shiraz Valtosca 93+) I recommend Las Gravas for us a great wine and still at good price less than 50€ here and if you can valtosca if you like concentration and complexity (his evolution in the glass omg) less than 20€ here.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

Big time scores!!!

@ivansanchez6202

5 ай бұрын

@@drmatthewhorkey Yeah Big Scores = Bad for us xD so their pie franco was 70€ now 130€....... don't really love when they go so high whit the prices..... Well it's what it's, jumilla gonna be the next big thing here in spain, and as i told you before Casa Castillo know how to do wine i know they gonna go high whit the prices and points but hurts...... P.D: I hope to saw your jumilla video soon ;)

Vinous had a great article about Verdicchio about a year ago that put me onto it. Enjoyed both Matelica and Jesi. I personally have not considered the human element to be part of the definition of terroir. But “terroir” and perhaps “minerality” might be the most contentious terms in all of wine, so no surprise there are differences of opinion.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

That was a a great article. Verdicchio is a stellar variety! Agreed on your last line.

The concept of terroir is made for the Riesling grape variety. You will sure taste the difference between a Riesling from slate or from limestone or from any other soil. Moreover, the mikroclimate plays a decisive role. Riesling grown at a little higher altitude, a little less exposition to the sun makes an entirely different wine.

@drmatthewhorkey

3 ай бұрын

Riesling is taylor-made for it!

I have always understood the French definition of Terroir to include the human interaction as part of the equation. Grapes cannot become wine without it.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Second comment rather than a continuation. I love sherry and have a very good collection even though I say so. Sherry and the wines of Montilla are amazing and the best food friendly drinks without a doubt. It does divide the wine world and I know wine folk that just don't relate to sherry but that is a big sadness. I'm big on these drinks Matt so let me know if you want any info.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

I hope to make it that way soon as I love the wines!

@welshtoro3256

5 ай бұрын

@@drmatthewhorkey Most wine people I know don't love sherry. It's a treasure if you do though.

Terroir is important as is the attention to details. When both are on a high level you have world class wines.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

👏🏼🍇🔥

Just check out Sauvignon Blanc, from Bordeaux, Sancerre, New Zealand, and California, all completely different wines.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

I have a whole video blind tasting the different Sauvignon Blancs from around the world!

Maybe I'm just turning into a wine nerd but I wish they'd put climate, soil, method, aging etc on the label instead of marketing poetry. Some wineries are nice enough to publish a PDF of all that stuff if you look around their websites carefully enough.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

Some of them do!

Human element is very important.Equaly is land, where the grapes are grown.Those two element affect the taste, unless it is "wine like beverage",made cheapest way for profit.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

Like whiteclaw???

@GorskiNunavut

5 ай бұрын

@@drmatthewhorkey Yes and a few more Don't won't dhare bad publicity. Thanks to you and a few others, I learned what to avoud. 😉

A Finger Lakes Chardonnay will taste quite a bit different from a Napa Chard, for example. So "terroir" matters, I suppose. Thing is, "terroir" as a concept is so vague that it's not very useful, it contains too many variables and (honestly) is mostly a marketing tool. It's sufficient to simply say that Washington State Riesling will probably taste differently than a Middle Mosel Riesling. My 2 cents worth. 😊

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

Terroir is definitely vague and overused!

This is such a divisive issue and I think much of the problem is the actual word 'terroir'. There's a rather naughty British wine critic that says the entire concept is pure bunkum concocted by the French wine establishment to make their wine sound more interesting. That up to date techniques and creativity of the wine producer have far more to do with what's in the glass than a mythical, vaguely hippie, term such as 'terroir'. I have a lot of sympathy with this point of view. Of course it matters what grapes you grow and the soil, climate, etc, etc, but does that make a unique product that can only exist in that plot of land imparting some unique signature? Surely science says no. What if the same conditions exist elsewhere on the planet and grown by the same producer: Why shouldn't they taste the same? A believer in terroir will counter that reasoning by suggesting that every bit of land has it's own unique geological and climactic signature which transition through to the wine in the glass. The thing is this theory is only ever used when advocating high end wine. It's never an option with mass produced bulk wine even if that wine comes from a region associated with terroir. The Chinese market, for example, gleefully drink affordable French wine but are blissfully unaware that much of that is bulk Spanish wine sold to French merchants and passed off as French. It tastes so French to the Chinese customers though. Top sales people can autosuggest anything. We want to believe in terroir, especially when we visit a Chateau in France or a mountaintop village in Tuscany. Here's my little challenge and I'll include a type of wine I love: Sherry. It can only be legally called that if it's been produced in the sherry triangle in Cadiz, Spain. The triangle being Jerez, Sanlucar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Maria (a stunning and eye opening wine visit tour for anyone). That wine has a protected Denominacion de Origen status. Furthermore, the name 'Sherry' is protected like Champagne. The cathedral like bodegas that store these wines are designed in such a way to allow special qualities such as sea breeze to influence the end result. Chalky soils and a particular grape are part of the story. Terroir at the max. Here we go though. Lets transport all those qualities in the south west of Spain to the south east of Spain. I'm fairly sure the results would be the same except you couldn't use descriptors such as 'Atlantic sea spray'. Does Mediterranean sea spray taste different? Even volcanic wines, which have a very particular style have a general profile wherever they're made. This doesn't matter to me in the scheme of things. Let folk enjoy terroir if they want to. The modern mantra is 'what's in the glass'. I'll take this to the extreme. There is a modern Irish whisky distillery that is flogging its stuff under the banner of terroir - Irish soil, ancient barley strains and yeasts. It's then distilled. Take all of that and do it somewhere else and it's the same. WT

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

Glad that you shed more light in Sherry. A style of wine that I absolutely LOVVEEE. Terroir is an interesting topic that opens a big can of worms!

@welshtoro3256

5 ай бұрын

@@drmatthewhorkey Just left another comment buddy. Have a look.

I dont think people have anything to do with terroir. Teroir is what the earth and environment give to the wine. Terra is root of the word.

@drmatthewhorkey

5 ай бұрын

Ohhhh hot take! I respect your opinion but do disagree.

@Ruirspirul

5 ай бұрын

this a very new world way of thinking. people part of terroir is not some flying winemaker who decides which packaged cultured yeast to use. by people in context of terroir they mean traditions and general influences. perfect example of this would be Kakheti in Georgia, one of the purest forms of terroir wine, why? because absolutely everything is local, grape variety, method of fermentation, method of aging, soil, climate and all the tiny little details you can think of is local and unique. none of the French oak nonsense, no Chardonnay. unique and based on traditions. all of it expresses the location.