THE VINEYARD: UNDERSTANDING TERROIR

To understand why natural wine is so special, we have to take a step back and look at what is known as terroir, which “good” natural wines invariably express. Simply put, terroir is a French term (derived from the French word for “earth”) that has come to refer to “a sense of place,” a unique, irreproducible combination of factors (plant, animal, climate, geology, soil, and topography, etc.) in a particular year.

It is a word that describes an agricultural context which can also be applied to olive oil, cider, butter, cheese, yogurt, and the like. “It is a glorious concept that came about when people living in a particular place noticed that plants, or animals, raised in that location expressed flavors that were not possible elsewhere. It was a powerful guarantee for consumers,” explains Nicolas Joly, a biodynamic producer from the Loire, in France, and founder of the growers’ association La Renaissance des Appellations.

Humans may also be a part of this context—but they are only ever part of it. If they dominate, then the expression of the place dwindles. Anselme Selosse, one of Champagne’s most iconic producers, explains this distinction well: “As a young winemaker, it was out of the question that I be subservient to nature. I was determined to be boss. I dominated the vines and wines entirely. And, although I was making wine exactly as I had wanted to, none of the results captured my interest. That is, until I realized that my way of being was totally unconducive to the creation of great art, since the originality, or singularity, of a place, which I so fervently sought, was in fact entirely dependent on my giving it the freedom to express itself.”

Different years produce different growing conditions, which, in turn, affect all the life forms living in that place, each making the most of the resources on offer and each inextricably linked to the rest through symbiosis, dependence, the food chain, or simply because they happen to be in the same place at the same time. The result is an incredibly intricate web of inputs that is infinitely more complex than anything that man can create. Nature, in all her profound subtleties, can always do it better.

Factors such as soil composition, climate, exposure, and altitude all contribute to terroir.

“Nowadays is the first time in the human story that we are able to make wine without terroir, just with chemicals.”

(CLAUDE BOURGUIGNON, AN AGRONOMIST FROM BURGUNDY, FRANCE)

As Jean-François Chêne, a natural grower in the Loire, in France, explains, “Each year we reproduce the same gestures, but they’re never quite the same. There are always little differences because of the year and that’s what is interesting.” It is, however, possible to iron out these vintage variations through interventions in the vineyard (such as using weed-killers or even irrigation) or in the cellar (see The Cellar: Processing & Additives, pages 54–55). In fact, many of today’s wines iron them out completely in the name of brand consistency.

Wine is an agricultural product created by living organisms in a particular place at a particular moment. It is the product of life forms, the sum of which is terroir. And, without them, terroir cannot be expressed.

As grower Anne-Marie Lavaysse from Le Petit Domaine de Gimios, a vineyard in the Languedoc, in southern France, explains, “Natural wine is all about what Nature gives me. It is simply the result of what the vineyard gives me each year.” Since it is a drink that nurtures and sustains life across the board, it is literally full of it—from the vineyard, to the cellar, to the bottle, and then in the glass.

As Jean-François Chêne succinctly puts it, “The most important thing for me is to respect the living above all else.”

One of Etienne and Claude Courtois’ biodiverse vineyards at Les Cailloux du Paradis in Sologne, France, surrounded by native woodland.

Autumn at La Coulée de Serrant, Nicolas Joly’s biodynamic estate in the Loire, France.