Terroir 2016 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 The importance of soil and geology in tasting terroir; a case history from the Willamette valley, Oregon

The importance of soil and geology in tasting terroir; a case history from the Willamette valley, Oregon

Abstract

Wines differ from each other based on seven different factors: the type of grape; the bedrock geology and resulting soils; the climate; the soil hydrology; physiography of the site; the winemaker and the vineyard management techniques. The first five of these factors make up what the French call terroir, “the taste of the place”. All around the world the geology and soils make up an important component of the terroir of the wine. In the Willamette Valley of Oregon in the United States, the terroir is strongly influenced by the bedrock geology and soils. The three dominant groups are the volcanic soils, the Jory Series, that are developed on the Columbia River Basalts and the Willakenzie Series of soils developed on uplifted marine sedimentary rocks in the foothills of the Oregon Coast Range. The third group is developed on Laurelwood Soils in weathered loess with pisolites in it on weathered Columbia River Basalt. The wines developed out of grapes from the three different soils are very different. They are so different that the Willamette Valley AVA has been subdivided into six new AVA’s based on the differences in terroir, primarily the soils and geology.

DOI:

Publication date: June 23, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2016

Type: Article

Authors

Scott Burns

Department of Geology, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, 97205 USA

Contact the author

Keywords

Pinot Noir, mineralogy, wine chemistry, soil chemistry, sensory analysis, Willamette Valley

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2016

Citation

Related articles…

Exploring microbial interactions between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and non-Saccharomyces yeast starters in vinification

Winemaking is a complex microbial process involving the co-existence and interactions of various microorganisms [1].

Effets de l’application d’acide gibbérellique (GA3) sur la qualité de raisins et de vins produits en climat tropical au Nord-Est du Brésil

The honeydew moth Cryptoblabes gnidiella is the main problem for the wineries in the Northeast of the Brazil, because it attacks the bunch and reduces the quality of the grapes and the wines. In order to stretch out the bunch to facilitate the penetration of the insecticides, it was used gibberellic acid. Six treatments with different concentrations and different dates of application, and the control were compared.

Effects of oak barrel aging monitored by 1H-NMR metabolomics

The study of wine evolution during barrel aging is an important aspect of wine quality. Our previous works have shown that wine metabolome monitoring by

1H-NMR approaches allows determining the impact of different winemaking processes including traitements using enzymes or finning agents [1].

Soil management with cover crops in irrigated vineyards: effects in vine microclimate (cv. Malbec) grown in a terroir of Agrelo (Luján de Cuyo)

L’objectif de cette recherche a été de déterminer les effets de l’enherbement dans le microclimat de la vigne. On a comparé cinq couvertures de cycle végétatif différent en ce qui concerne l’entretien du sol sans culture par application d’herbicides. L’étude a été developpée dans un vignoble cv. Malbec conduit en haute espalier, situé en a terroir á Agrelo, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentine. On a déterminé des paramètres micro climatiques:

Glucosidase and esterase salivary activities and their involvement in consumer’s wine sensory perception and liking

Wine flavour is the integration of distinct physiologically defined sensory systems that combine taste, aroma and trigeminal sensations, and it is a key determinant factor for the acceptance of wine by consumers. Volatile compounds, are important contributors to wine flavour, specially to aroma. These small and low-boiling point compounds are easily released into the air allowing to enter and move within the nasal or oral cavities where they can bind the olfactory receptors. Additionally, wine also contains aroma precursors, which are non-volatile compounds, but that can be broken down releasing volatile odorants. During wine tasting, all these chemicals (volatiles and non-volatiles) can be submitted to the action of salivary enzymes.