Terroir

French term for the sum entity and effect (no single word exists in English) of every environmental factor on a given piece of ground. Included within terroir, for example, are a vineyard’s soil, slope, orientation to the sun, and elevation, plus every nuance of climate: rainfall, wind velocity, frequency of fog, cumulative hours of sunshine, average high temperatures, average low temperatures, and so on. Each vineyard is said to have its own terroir.

Spain has had the greatest influence on Chile’s wine industry.

Answer: False.

Arguably, it is not Spain that has had the most influence on Chile's wines, but France. In the mid-1800s, rich Chilean landowners and mining barons showcased their wealth by building wine estates modeled after Bordeaux châteaux (after all, Bordeaux was the wine superpower of the era, especially after the 1855 Classification). The Chileans planted vineyards with imported French grapes, most notably cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and carménère. Whenever possible, Chileans hired French winemakers, who, by the latter part of the century, were easy to lure from their homeland thanks to the deadly insect phylloxera which had begun to sweep its way through France and much of the Old World.

Red, White and Blue?

Ok, so there’s red wine, and there’s white wine, right? And some of you have probably had a glass or two of orange wine. But blue wine? Doubtful. Now, thanks to a group of Spanish… Continue reading

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