Terroir

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Terroir (French terroir m. 'Area', from Latin terra 'earth') is an agricultural term originally from France , of which there is no clear German translation of the basic idea behind it. Depending on the interpretation , terroir describes the natural factors ( location factors ) of a certain piece of land, which influence the properties of the crops grown there. These are determined by the interaction between the culture-defining activities of humans and the conditions of nature such as (micro) climate , geology , terrain and soil properties. The term thus largely assesses the character, peculiarity and value that is ascribed to a particular area and its agricultural products.

Different definitions

Depending on the interpretation, the influence of humans in the production of agricultural products is weighted differently. The strictest definition describes terroir as properties of a piece of land that has not been significantly changed by humans. In this sense, terroir appears as something given by nature that is not significantly influenced by human care measures. According to more recent French representations, the emphasis on the soil and its influence and interactions with other environmental elements lies in the regulation of the water supply to plants.

In Germany - where there is no conceptual history of a German equivalent of terroir - the term was only introduced much later. In addition, terroir is now a term used in marketing , especially in the marketing of high-quality agricultural products and wine, which is used worldwide.

French representations

For the first time, the term was used in the French-speaking world for culinary products typical of the region. Until the 1920s, it was reserved exclusively for products such as cheese, meat and meat products, herbs or oils, but in France the term was also used in viticulture as part of the classification of sites and wineries . In doing so, it records all natural conditions that influence the biology of the vine and consequently the composition of the grape itself. According to Pierre Laville's definition , the terroir is determined by the following factors:

Terroir in this reading is the interplay of climate and soil under the influence of a large number of factors such as night and day temperatures , precipitation distribution, duration of sunshine , slope exposure and slope inclinations , soil properties , etc.

The French winemaker Bruno Prats , owner of the Château Cos d'Estournel in Médoc , describes the term as follows: “The completely French term terroir covers all natural conditions that influence the biology of the vine and consequently the composition of the grape itself. Terroir is the meeting of climate, soil and landscape, the interaction of an infinite number of factors: night and day temperatures, precipitation distribution, sunshine hours, slope inclination and soil permeability, just to name a few. All of these factors react with each other and form in every single part of a wine-growing region what the French winemaker calls terroir. "

See also

literature

  • Commission I: Viticulture. Resolution VITI 2/93, Bull. OIV. 751-752, 734 de l'OIV (Office International de la Vigne et du Vin): Criteria for differentiating and delimiting vitivinicultural zones and regions and examination of the role played by natural and human factors .
  • Pierre Laville: Units de terroir naturel et terroir. Une distinction nécessaire pour redonner plus de cohérence au système d'appellation d'origine. Bull. OIV 745-746, 227-251 de l'OIV (French).
  • James Wilson: Terroir. Key to wine. Soil, climate and culture in French viticulture. Hallwag Verlag, Bern and Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-444-10552-5 .
  • Dieter Hoppmann: Terroir - weather, climate and soil in viticulture. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8001-5317-6 .
  • Reinhard Löwenstein: Terroir. Wine culture and enjoyment in a global world. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-440-11792-7 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Terroir  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Jancis Robinson: The Oxford Wine Lexicon. Hallwag Verlag, Munich 2003, pp. 733f.
  2. ↑ a b c Wolfgang Fassbender: Terroir and its expression in wine. A necessary disambiguation In: Journal Culinaire. Culture and Science of Food. No. 4, Stuttgart 2007, Edition Klink, ISBN 978-3-927350-85-4 , pp. 68-72.
  3. ↑ ErnestoPauli.ch: Goût de terroir - taste of the soil?