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Terroir⎯The Footprint of Great Wines

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Terroir⎯The Footprint of Great Wines TERROIR⎯THE FOOTPRINT OF GREAT WINES Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the qualification of the Cape Wine Master Diploma Cape Wine Academy GERDA D. MOUTON July 2006 No great wine without the total commitment of the winegrower… “Attaining the purest expression of terroir, such should be the perpetual pursuit of the winegrower in his daily efforts. Every act counts. From the vine, where the grape, interpreter of the soil’s subtleties, is born, through to the winery where the fruit is slowly transformed, the hand of the winegrower along with the tradition and spirit that inspire him are decisive. This passion follows through to the cellar by the bottling of unfiltered wines. This high quality approach preserves the finest constituents of a wine, all these good elements that will allow the wine to develop its noble structure and its multiple aromas. Whatever the cru or the vintage may be, the ambition of the winegrower would be to stimulate the wine lover’s pleasure. Step for step, detail for detail, he should commit himself fully in order to preserve the soul of the wine. There can be no great wine without the total commitment of the winegrower.” Terroir and the Winegrower - Jacky Rigaux, 2006. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to express sincere appreciation to all the winemakers for completing the surveys, and industry personalities and opinion leaders who gave up their time to answer questions and provide very detailed feedback. A special thank you to Mr. D. Saayman, for his expert guidance which has enabled me to complete this thesis. I also thank Benjamin Mouton, my husband for all his time, input and encouragement and Annette Brynard, my mother and friend for her support and shouldering many of my other responsibilities. And lastly, thank you to all my friends, for bringing great terroir wines from all over the world to taste and reminiscence. iii Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES 1 1.1. Introduction 1 1.2 Objectives 2 1.3 Layout of thesis 3 2. THE CONCEPTS OF TERROIR 4 2.1 The concept of terroir as defined in the Old World of Wine 4 2.2 The concept of terroir as defined in the New World of Wine 5 2.3 The history behind the concept of terroir 6 2.4 The merging of the concepts 8 2.5 The six facets of terroir 9 2.6 Summary 10 3. THE FACTORS THAT DETERMINE A GREAT TERROIR 11 3.1 The environmental factors 11 3.2 Location 11 3.3 The natural factors 12 3.3.1 Geology 12 3.3.2 Soil 14 3.3.2.1 The role of the water supply 14 3.3.2.2 Water supply in the soils of Bordeaux 15 3.3.3 Climate 16 3.3.3.1 Temperature 17 3.3.3.2 Relative humidity 17 3.3.3.3 Wind 18 3.3.4 Topography 19 3.4 Mechanisms within the natural environment for terroir expression 20 3.4.1 Plant physiology and minerality in wines 20 3.4.2 Adaptation of the vine to the environment 21 3.4.3 Root growth 21 3.4.4 The effect of the chemical and physical properties of the soil 21 3.4.5 Canopy architecture 22 iv 3.4.6 Physiochemical state of grapes 23 3.5 Key elements for Terroir Expression 26 3.6 Mechanization and terroir 26 3.7 Viticultural factors that influence terroir 27 3.7.1 Choice of terroir 27 3.7.2 Varietal selection 28 3.7.2.1 Requirements to match variety to site 29 3.7.2.2 Mediterranean varieties 30 3.7.3 Viticultural expertise 30 3.7.4 Rootstock selection 30 3.7.5 Clone selection 31 3.7.6 Changes in farm planning 31 3.7.7 Vineyard management 32 3.7.8 Yield and quality 33 4. THE CONCEPT OF TERROIR AND THE PRACTICE OF VITICULTURAL ZONING 35 4.1 Viticultural zoning versus Terroir 35 4.2 The aim of viticultural zoning 36 4.3 Methodologies applied in viticultural zoning 38 4.3.1 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) 38 4.3.2 Multispectral remote sensing 39 4.3.3 Atmospheric modeling 39 4.3.4 The Multicriteria Climatic Classification System 39 4.3.5 Cartography 39 4.3.6 Soil electric resitivity 40 5. THE HUMAN ROLE- GREAT TERROIR AND A GREAT WINE 41 5.1 The Gimblett Gravels case study 43 5.2.Terroir manipulation in the Western Cape 44 v 6. TERROIR, THE FOOTPRINT OF A GREAT WINE IN OLD AND NEW WINE COUNTRIES 45 6.1 Old wine countries 45 6.1.1 France 46 6.1.1.1 Alsace 46 6.1.1.2 Rangen Clos Saint Urbain 47 6.1.1.3 Burgundy 47 6.1.2 Italy 49 6.1.2.1 Barolo 49 6.2 New World wine countries 51 6.2.1 United States 51 6.2.1.1 Napa Valley, California 51 6.2.2 Australia 53 6.2.2.1 South Adelaide 53 6.2.2.2 South Adelaide and Penfolds Grange 53 6.2.2.3 Eden Valley and Henscke Hill of Grace 53 6.2.2.4 Coonawarra and Penley Estate 54 6.2.3 New Zealand 55 6.2.4 South Africa 56 7. TERROIR IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN VINEYARDS 58 7.1 Historical overview of the Western Cape Winelands 58 7.2 Developments and government intervention 59 7.3 The private sector 59 7.4 The natural heritage 59 7.5 The importance of terroir in SA 61 7.6 Consumer acceptance of terroir 62 7.7 The demarcation of terroir in South Africa 62 7.7.1 The current Wine of Origin scheme and demarcation 63 7.7.1.1 Wards 64 7.7.1.2 Estate wines 65 vi 7.7.1.3 Single vineyards 65 7.7.1.4 Terroir Specific Wines 66 7.8 Natural terroir units (NTU) 70 7.9 Conclusion of a survey of South African wines 71 8. MARKETING AND TERROIR 73 8.1 Acceptance of the role of terroir in the global market place 73 8.2 The authenticity of terroir 74 8.3 How we can bring the terroir message to the consumer 75 8.4 The Importance of bio-diversity within the marketing message of terroir 75 9. CONCLUSIONS 77 LIST OF REFERENCES 84 vii TABLE OF FIGURES 1. The six facets of terroir, as proposed by Moran (2006) 2. Basic forms of canopy architecture models 3. Coonawarra, at the tip of Southern Australia 4. Constantia, showing the Bio-diversity 5. Map of Western Cape wine producing region 6. Structure of the Wine of Origin scheme 6 A. Map of the South African Wine of Origin areas viii Table of Appendices Appendix 1: List of Producers showing terroir expression in their wines Appendix 2: Survey of producers and their terroir to produce quality wine in demarcated wine producing areas: 1. Constantia ward 2 The Cape Point Vineyards 3. Durbanville 4. Philadelphia ward 5. Darling/Groenekloof ward 6. Simonsberg-Stellenbosch ward 7. Stellenbosch, inclusive of the Helderberg 8. Bottelary ward 9. Elgin ward 10. Robertson district 11. Tulbagh district 12. Paarl district 13. Cederberg ward Appendix 3: Colour maps of each wine production area (source: WOSA) 1. Robertson-Breede River Valley region 2. Worcester/Breedekloof 3. Robertson/Swellendam 4. Klein Karoo 5. Cape Point/Constantia/Tygerberg 6. Paarl/Franschhoek/Wellington 7. Franschhoek Valley ward 8. Stellenbosch 9. Darling/Swartland 10. Tulbagh 11. Cederberg/Citrusdal Mountain and Valley ix 12. Citrusdal Mountain/Lutzville Valley 13. Cape Agulhas/Overberg 14. Overberg/Walker Bay 15. Northern Cape Appendix 4: Wine Survey Questionnaire x ABSTRACT In any discussion of a role-playing factor as important as that of terroir in the wine industry, it is first and foremost important to understand the concept of terroir historically, as it was perceived as long ago as Roman Times, and even before. In order to support the present day perceptions of terroir, and the importance thereof, one has to determine the role it has played since then, to modern times. The factors that determine a great terroir are dealt with in some detail. The diversity of terroirs, and also the similarities that exist between various terroirs, in the different wine regions of the world are described. It is evident that the component elements of terroir only differ in the weight ascribed to the respective terroir factors in the different countries. From soil as the dominant consideration in Old World wine countries to climate as the accepted determining factor in certain New World wine regions, it soon became clear that all the natural elements play a role, and that the interdependence on, and interaction between them are the ultimate determining factors that need to be considered with great care before human intervention can be introduced, in the quest to produce a great wine. The marriage of the vine with the terroir calls for careful matching of not only the individual characteristics of each, separately, but the conscious decision to bring about the ideal marriage that will deliver the grape that will bring forth the expressiveness of the terroir in any wine of distinction. Hence the human factor has been dealt with in some detail, to show the extent to which human intervention contributes to the production of a great wine. The fact that demarcation has been introduced around the concept of terroir confirms the role that terroir plays to lend authenticity to the concept thereof. One is forced to come to the conclusion that for a great wine to be produced the demarcation of the smallest homogeneous agricultural unit plays a determining role, i.e.
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