477657 Wed Jan 09 11:02:11 -0800 2008 6 34 Wine 0 3277651 “Terroir” is a term which in wine generally signifies the precise characteristics that a specific geographical location imparts to the wine. For me, terroir imparts meaning beyond the physical, incorporating time and a sense of place, of identity which relates to belonging. My grandfather grew apple trees. There was a red apple tree that got ripe in June, and two yellow apple trees that ripened early as well. These apples were used in pies, in canning, and for eating in the summer. On the other side of the house was a small plot that had two more apple trees that ripened in the fall; these two trees had these whitish golden green apples with grey-brown spots on them. They were hard, hard as winesaps, tart, and made great cider. To this day, they were the best apples I’ve ever had. My grandfather also had plums, damson plums, and peaches. Relatives and neighbors had pear trees, I remember my great Aunt Leslie had pears that make my mouth water to think of them. Today I and most folks I know buy our fruit from grocery stores. The fruit can come from all over the world. Frequently I don’t even know where it comes from unless it says “California oranges” “Chilean Grapes”, etcetera. There is something about the “I’ve been there and touched that” knowledge of a place that carries a distinctiveness that matters to me. Some wines that I drink (the wines I enjoy the most) talk to me of where they come from. They whisper to me of sunny days, of hot stretches of beating sun, of overly wet springtimes. They murmur of the minerals in the soil: chalk, limestone, granite, the clay of the soil in which the vines grow, the hillsides that look year after year onto the habitations of the humans who live near them. I drink wine from a particular year, and I associate myself with the memories of those years. Ray Bradbury wrote about dandelion wine, and how it trapped each summer in the bottles and when winter came you could go to the cellar and open one and the summer would flower into the room when you sipped it. Why am I talking about all this to folks who probably know it as well as I do? Because fairly frequently, the wines I drink inspire me to wax poetic about them. I just recently opened a Clos de Sainte Catherine, Domaine des Baumard chenin blanc, 2002. I hadn't had a really fine chenin blanc in "awhile", and I am rather happy with this one. This wine is what inspired me to write this today, because when I drank it, it brought my grandfather and his apple trees into my memory in a visceral way. Things like this are what get me to often pursue wine over other beverages. Wed Jan 09 11:02:11 -0800 2008 83832 fussycouple 1 3277882 I watched Sideways again on Sunday with a couple of glasses of Pinot Noir. It would not have been the same with anything else, especially Merlot. Wed Jan 09 11:57:51 -0800 2008 3277651 148886 duck833 1 3278010 Thanks for taking the time to share these thoughts. Wonderful.... Wed Jan 09 12:25:33 -0800 2008 3277651 89969 moh 2 3278876 Just seconding the thought -- this was a lovely posting. Wed Jan 09 15:45:54 -0800 2008 3278010 147512 chriscatva 1 3287041 Very good, and interesting take on wine. Unfortunately, I have had too many lately, that did not speak of place, or of time, but only the wine in the glass, at that moment, at that time... nothing more, and that is a problem. I like your analogies and wish that I had experienced more sense of place, or time, than I have. Must be the wines, that I can reach in the cellar! Hunt Fri Jan 11 18:18:49 -0800 2008 3277651 11329 Bill Hunt 1 3311246 What a lovely posting, fussycouple. Unfortunately, I think that Bill Hunt's observation speaks to a trend in the industry that saddens me. At it's best and treated with respect, wine can be like a meditation aid, a prayer wheel. Thanks, fussycouple. Sat Jan 19 07:08:53 -0800 2008 3277651 91415 hungry_pangolin 2 3315026 I agree, regarding a trend. I find it as much in the restaurant industry, as the wine industry. I find that too many wines seem to have been designed by a focus group, and then distilled (or should I say fermented) to the lowest common denominatior. Now, most of these are encountered at events, on airlines and in the respective clubs of the airlines, plus general restaurants. It in no way reflects the philosophy of all winemakers, just many of the "mainstream" ones. When I do encounter wines, with a true since of time and place, I pause, and spend as much tiime with them, as is possible. I just encountered one such wine from Signorello, The Edge, which is a Cab-blend, very inexpensive, but worth the time to savor. It was the best, inexpensive Cab, that I have tasted in many years, and reminded me of 3er Cru Bdx, at 10% of the price - outstanding! I could taste the love, the earth, and, though it did not remind me so much of California, I'll bet that if I'd had those glasses, while sitting in their vineyard, I'd have understood everything. More wines need that same sense of "soul." Now, if I can only get to my Zins and PNs, at the back of the cellar. Oh wait, I forgot. I just bought a case of The Edge, and it will go on top of the stack of cases, that block the Zins and PNs - my bad! Hunt Sun Jan 20 15:59:22 -0800 2008 3311246 11329 Bill Hunt