Terroir 2012 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Terroir Conferences 9 Terroir 2012 9 Ancient and recent construction of Terroirs 9 Kimmeridgian age in Chablis: a geological argument for the social building of a terroir

Kimmeridgian age in Chablis: a geological argument for the social building of a terroir

Abstract

Situated at the beginning of the 20th century on the territory of the Chablis municipality, delimited according to specialists of the time to plots of “kimmeridgian” origin, the vineyard producing Chablis wines has considerably extended as a result of challenges and internal conflicts. The reference to the Kimmeridgian age progressively lost its sense to finally disappear from delimitation criteria. The geological definition of the Chablis terroir actually appear as an unbiaised pretext hiding political, economical or social issues along with struggles for influence which lasted throughout the 20th century.

In order to shed light on human and social inputs into processes of normalization of terroirs via Appellations of controlled origin, we describe the different historical phases of the definition of the Chablis vineyard. We analyze the contribution of the geological argument put forward in front of judges, and then since 1935, in front of the INAO, while deciphering actor games, which as negociations go, were influential on the Chablis delimitation. We thus show that the input of a geological standard of the Chablis terroir is instrumental for negociations or social stresses within territories between professional syndicates, wine merchants, state agents or scientists, in reaction of economical, administrative or law contexts.

DOI:

Publication date: August 26, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2012

Type: Article

Authors

Éric VINCENT (1), Olivier JACQUET (2)

(1) Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité,16 rue du golf 21800 Quetigny
(2) Chaire UNESCO « Culture et traditions du vin » de l’Université de Bourgogne. Institut Jules Guyot, Université de Bourgogne BP 27877 21078 DIJON CEDEX

Contact the author

Keywords

Geology Chablis terroir building.

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2012

Citation

Related articles…

Factors affecting flavonols instability of red wines due to climate change

Due to varietal factors, the formation of undesirable deposits of flavonols, especially quercetin (Q), occurs in several red wines.

Architecture, microclimate, vine regulation, grape berry and wine quality: how to choose the training system according to the wine type ?

This synthetic presentation deals with :
• A description of the variability and the main models of grapevine canopy architecture in the world.
• A precision on the model « potential exposed leaf area SFEp », which estimates the potential of net carbon balance of the plant, and shows a regulating effect of high SFEp levels on production decrease.

The affinity of white wine proteins for bentonite is dependent on wine composition and is directly related to their thermal stability / sensitivity

Bentonite fining is commonly used in oenology to remove all or parts of white wine proteins, which are known to be involved in haze formation. This fining is effective, but has disadvantages: it is not selective, thus molecules responsible for aroma are also removed, it causes substantial volume losses, and finally it generates wastes. Over the last decades, the knowledge of wine proteins has increased: they have been identified, their structures are known, some of them have been crystallized.

Sensory impact of sunburn in white wine and mitigation of climateinduced off-flavours by defoliation and application of reflecting particles on grapes

Climate change is a great environmental challenge with large impact on the Wine and sprakling wine industry. Heat waves and dryness cause frequent sunburn damage in white grapes

FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY IN MONITORING THE WINE PRODUCTION

The complexity of the wine matrix makes the monitoring of the winemaking process crucial. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) along with chemometrics is considered an effective analytical tool combining good accuracy, robustness, high sample throughput, and “green character”. Portable and non-portable FTIR devices are already used by the wine industry for routine analysis. However, the analytical calibrations need to be enriched, and some others are still waiting to be thoroughly developed.