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earth2table: Location, Location, Location
December 18, 2006

Stu Stein

December 18, 2006
Lately I’ve been asked quite often by foodservice professionals and consumers what exactly “terroir” is, what it means and why they should care. It is a mysterious term. As I’ve said before, ask two different winemakers or chefs for their definitions, and you will get three different answers.

Literally, the French translation for terroir (pronounced ter-whahr) is "soil." The classic definition of terroir is "a taste or sense of a place"; the term also refers to an item that uniquely reflects its place of birth. To most, it’s a term that shows the effect of the land on a product’s flavor.

Matt Kramer, wine writer and author of Making Sense of Wine (Running Press Book Publishers, updated 2004), poetically defines terroir as “somewhere-ness.” This approaches terroir by simply referring to geological and geographical attributes: location, location, location, or should I say, microclimate, microclimate, microclimate.

Jamie Goode of online wine magazine “The Wine Anorak” argues that terroir is reserved solely to describe the physical environment in which the agriculture (specifically, grape vines) grows—that is, the soil type, microclimate and aspect of a defined area.

My problem with these definitions is that some products have a sensitivity to terroir, while other foodstuffs may be less likely to show it. Yes, dirt matters, but terroir is about so much more. Is it just that age-old nature versus nurture argument? I think not. Terroir comes from an ongoing process of discovery, stewardship and passionate art. It involves both nature and human endeavors. It is the combination of complex variables—climate, feed, soil, the human touch and seasonal shifts—that contribute to the character of the end product.

I’m also tired of the wine geeks out there pretentiously fighting over what terroir really means and applying it only to their precious juice. Terroir is passion. There is a human element that interprets the product and intervenes at the proper point, but there are also the impacts of history, experience and culture. My friend Paul Atkinson and his amazing suckling pigs from his Eugene, Ore., farm have this passion. Pierre Kolisch, his 110 goats and their amazing goat cheeses from Redmond, Ore., have it. The Bolster family and the produce from their Albany, Ore., farm have it. And even local winemaker Gilles Antoine de Domingo and his certified organic and biodynamic wines have it.

To me, trying to define terroir is similar to how Justice Potter Stewart explained pornography in the 1964 United States Supreme Court case: “I know it when I see it,” or in this case, I know it when I taste it.

So why do we care? We have been fooled into believing that what's hot, what's new and what's “in” are the standards for culinary excellence. Not so, my friends. Let me turn to Slow Food USA and its Ark of Taste, a product directory that hopes “to save an economic, social and cultural heritage—a universe of animal breeds, fruit and vegetables, cured meats, cheese, cereals, pastas, cakes and confectionery. ” The group’s mission is to preserve endangered tastes by introducing them to its membership and to the world.

It's all part of an appreciation of your own regional and local history and recognizing that every area has the ability to produce flavorful and wonderful food. The best way to defend the planet’s cultural and biological diversity is to enjoy it at the table. Grow it, sell it, support it and eat it. Your taste buds will thank me.

Let me sum up terroir by passing along a quote from Cole Danehower, my friend, soon-to-be wine/beverage manager and co-publisher/wine editor of Northwest Palate magazine: “There is a terroir of the soul as well as a terroir of the soil, and they both must be expressed for there to be truly unique taste. I have always felt that I can ‘see’ [local winemaker] Patty Green's smile in a glass of her pinot [noir], because the styles of her wines are infused with the style of her personality … whereas a different winemaker can produce a different style of wine because of their own unique terroir of the soul.”

And the journey continues.

Cheers!

Stu

Posted by Stu Stein on December 18, 2006 | Comments (0)