Terroir 2012 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Typology of Terroirs around the world

Typology of Terroirs around the world

Abstract

It seems implausible that the geographical development of the vineyards could have been affected by a shift in the positions of the Earth’continents that started 250 million years ago. At one end of the geological timescale there are landscapes shaped by men, at the other, there are monumental upheavals so slow that they defy the imagination. In fact, the succession of landslides, collisions, eruptions, and subductions that marked the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras and the Tertiary period was indeed the original source of the rocks and great masses that were then chiseled into shape 2 million years ago, at the start of the Quaternary period, to form the wine-growing landscapes that we see today. The study of these different phenomena allows to offer a classification, a typography of vitivinicultural terroirs across the world according to the history of geology and geomorphology of the different vitivinicultural areas.

DOI:

Publication date: August 26, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2012

Type: Article

Authors

Jacques FANET

Mas d’Arlenques 3 chemin des Combes d’Arlenques 34800 ASPIRAN – FRANCE

Contact the author

Keywords

Continental drift, geology, geomorphology, terroir

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2012

Citation

Related articles…

What does the concept of natural wine evoke in the minds and senses of tasters? Effect of the level of expertise.

In this video recording of the IVES science meeting 2025, Jordi Ballester (Centre des sciences du goût et de l’alimentation, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, Université Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Dijon, France) and María-Pilar Sáenz-Navajas (Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y el Vino (ICVV) (CSIC-UR-GR), La Rioja, Spain) speak about the concept of natural wine. This presentation is based on an original article accessible for free on OENO One.

Importance of matrix effects (wine composition) on protein stability tests of white and rosé wines

The presence of unstable proteins in wines can affect their stability and clarity. Before bottling, winemakers need to be sure that the wine is stable. A large number of stability tests have been proposed, usually based on heating a sample with a specific time-temperature couple. In practice, none is effective to accurately assess the risk of instability. Moreover, the interpretation of the results of these tests changes according to the region.

Evaluation of three alternative strategies for the long-term remediation of reductive off-odours in wines

Sulfur-like off-odours are a problem caused by the presence of free forms of volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs). H2S is the most frequently found above its odour threshold

Etude préliminaire des influences pédoclimatiques sur les caractéristiques quali-quantitatives du cépage aglianico dans une zone de la province de benevento-ltalie

The need to classify the vineyards of an area according to the quality of its wines is not recent, but it is only in the last ten years that studies on the suitability of different areas for the cultivation of vineyard take on an integrated and interdisciplinary character (Boselli, 1991). The definition of the suitability of the environment is thus obtained by making the climatic, pedological, topographical and cultural information interact with the vegetative, productive and qualitative expression of the grape varieties.

The potential of some native varieties of Argentina for the production of sparkling wines. Effect of lees contact time 

Grapevine varieties from South-America, commonly known as criollas, originated because of the natural crossbreeding of grapevine varieties brought by the Spaniards. The objective of this work was to evaluate the potential of some varieties to produce sparkling wines considering the effect of lees contact time. The following varieties were used: Moscatel Rosado, Criolla Chica, Pedro Gimenez, Blanca Oval, Canelón, and the European variety Chardonnay (control), planted in the ampelographic collection of EEA Mendoza INTA (Argentina). Pilot-scale vinifications were carried out to obtain the base wines, in 20 L glass containers. The second fermentation was performed through the traditional method.