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…

Significance of factors making Riesling an iconic grape variety

Riesling is the iconic grape variety of Germany and accounts for 23% of the German viticulture acreage, which comprises 45% of the worldwide Riesling plantings. Riesling wines offer a wide array of styles from crisp sparkling wines to highly concentrated and sweet Trockenbeerenauslese or Icewines. However, its thin berry skin makes Riesling more vulnerable to detrimental environmental threats than other white wine varieties.  

Malolactic fermentation in wine production

What influence do these bacteria have on wines? What new bacteria are being studied to carry out this fermentation? Find below articles about malolactic fermentation published in our 3 media (OENO One, IVES Technical Reviews and IVES Conference Series). OENO One...

Metabolomics screening of Vitis sp. interspecific hybrids to select natural ingredients with cosmetic purposes

Introducing natural ingredients using green chemistry practices is a major challenge in cosmetics industry to follow the market trend. Among the plants of cosmetic interest, vine products show a remarkable diversity of natural substances with high potential for the cosmetic and dermatological sectors. To date, research focuses on well-known compounds like E-resveratrol and E-ε-viniferin,

WAC 2022: Abstracts are available on IVES Conference Series

In order to disseminate the scientific results presented during the WAC 2022 , the organizers have decided to share the abstracts of the oral communications and posters with Open Access on IVES Conference Series. The fifth edition of the International Conference...

Winemaking techniques and wine tasting methods at the end of the Middle Ages

Les pratiques de vinification et de dégustation du vin sont souvent perçues, à travers un discours marketing très puissant, sous l’angle d’une tradition millénaire qui perdure depuis le Moyen Âge. En Bourgogne, il est courant de rattacher les racines de ces pratiques à l’activité des institutions ecclésiastiques qui possédaient d