Terroirs

Origins

Over the centuries, French winemakers developed the concept of terroir by observing the differences in wines from different regions, vineyards, or even different sections of the same vineyard. The French began to crystallize the concept of terroir as a way of describing the unique aspects of a place that influence and shape the wine made from it. Long before the French, the wine-making regions of the ancient world had already developed a concept of different regions having the potential to produce very different and distinct wines, even from the same grapes. The Ancient Greeks would stamp amphorae with the seal of the region they came from, and different regions established reputations based on the quality of their wines. For centuries, literate and disciplined members of the Benedictine and Cistercian orders cultivated grapes in much of Burgundy. With vast landholdings, the monks could conduct large-scale observation of the influences that various parcels of land had on the wine it produced. Some legends have the monks establishing the boundaries of different terroirs – many of which still exist today as the Grand Cru vineyards of Burgundy.