New World Wine Idea of Terroir!

Every second wine bottles back label reads something like this "*insert name and grape varietal here* is a contemporary expression of terroir from *insert region*".

The expression/term 'Terroir' a French word, for which there is no direct translation, is about every facet that directly influences the grape throughout its growing season. These factors include temperature, soil profile, native yeasts, amount of rain and sunshine, country where grown etc. you get the point. It still baffles me to read these wine labels that profess to have terroir driven wines when a) they irrigate the vines b) they inoculate juice with cultured yeast.

Throughout the whole of New Zealand there are few vineyards that do not irrigate their vines. Irrigation dilutes the terroir characters that are drawn from the soil in any given season. 

The inoculation of grape juice guarantees completion of the fermentation process but negates all of the terroir characters that the wine marketers use so evocatively on the back label. Don't be fooled by what they say on the back label unless it says 'Native/wild/indigenous yeast'!

Posted via web from Wine Marketing 101