Volcanic soil

I–Q

• Keuper – Soil type consisting of marl and limestone common in Alsace, dating to the Upper Triassic period.
• Kimmeridgian soil – A gray-colored limestone-based soil originally identified in Kimmeridge, England. Kimmeridgian clay is calcareous clay containing Kimmeridgian limestone. This is the principal soil type of the Loire Valley, Champagne and Burgundy regions.
• Lignite – Soil type used as fertilizer in Germany and Champagne. It is a brown-colored carbonaceous soil that is intermediate between peat and coal.
• Limestone – Sediment-based soil consisting of carbonates. The most common colored limestone found in wine-producing area is buff-gray in color (with the exception of white chalk). The water-retention abilities vary by composition, but limestone is consistently alkaline and is generally planted with grapes of high acidity levels. This is the main soil type in the Zinnkoepflé region of Alsace.
• Llicorella – A soil type found in the Priorat appellation of Spain. The soil is a mix of slate and quartz that dates to the Paleozoic era. The soil is very porous and drains well. Syrah, Grenache and Carignan have done well in this soil type.
• Loam – Warm, soft, fertile soil composed of roughly equal amounts of silt, sand and clay. It is typically too fertile for high-quality wines that need to limit yields in order to concentrate flavors.
• Loess – A very fine, predominantly silty soil composed of wind-borne sediment that is typically angular and decalcified. Commonly known as brickearth in the UK, the soil is very fertile and has good water retention and warming properties, but drains poorly.
• Marl – Calcareous-clay-based soil that adds acidity to the wine. Vines planted in this type of soil normally ripen later than in other soil types. Marl soil is typically deep and lacking in stone fragments; it is the main soil type in the Piedmont wine region of Italy. Marlstone is the indurated (well cemented) metamorphic form of Marl.
• Mica – Silicate-based soil composed of fine, decomposed rock formations.
• Muschelkalk -Soil type consisting of various compositions of sandstone, marl, dolomite, and shingle common in Alsace dating back from the Middle Triassic period.
• Perlite – A volcanic soil type that is light, powdery and lustrous with properties similar to diatomaceous earth.
• Quartz – Common material found in most vineyard soils—especially sand and silt-based soils. The high soil pH of quartz can reduce the acidity of the resulting wines, but its heat-retaining property (it stores and reflects heat) can increase ripening of the grape, which can result in wine of higher alcohol content.