What does “terroir” mean in wine? What is terroir?

Terroir is a French word that’s used quite often in dialogue around wine and is used even more so in the Old World than in the New World. While there is some nuance to the term which we’ll explore in more depth below, terroir is, in short, everything about a place that defines that place. The soil, the sun, the wind, the climate as a whole, the history, the tradition, the culture — everything that defines that place on earth as a unique place on earth, that is terroir. And the reason terroir is important is that it’s often* what not only makes the place a unique place on earth, but it’s also what makes the wine a unique wine compared to any other.


*I asterisk this because winemakers that intervene heavily (see our post on
wines and headaches for more on this) in the wine will essentially obliterate any noticeable elements of terroir because of that intervention. For example, if a winemaker adds freeze-dried tannins, sugar, and artificial flavors to a wine, it becomes nearly impossible to recognize anything of the place — the terroir — the wine comes from.


The nuance in the word terroir is associated distinctly with both its definition and its use. Some folks consider that terroir refers only to the soil, to the land, because that is the direct translation of the word. The definition of terroir in the context of wine, however, is much broader than simply land. While, of course, the land itself is an important component of terroir, it’s not the only important element. Terroir comprises every single element, tangible and intangible, measurable and immeasurable, that defines a place. By this definition, terroir broadens to its full self as it’s understood in wine: terroir includes the culture of the inhabitants, the grubs that live in the soil, the winds that cascade through the vineyards, the slopes and slants or the flatter plains, the yeasts and bacteria in the air and water, etc. For this reason, precisely defining terroir is actually near-impossible because terroir is the essence of the place. And to define the essence of something is borderline impossible.

Now that we understand the nuance in the definition of terroir, we can explore the nuance in the use of it. Terroir is only relevant in medium-to-low-intervention wines. Why? Because if you heavily manipulate a wine with all sorts of modern techniques, most of which rely on synthetic chemical additives, then those added flavors will cover up any semblance of terroir that previously existed in the wine. Terroir is subtle and gentle. Winemakers that oakblast (not a real word, but we’ll roll with it) or chaptalize (the technical term to say adding sugar) a wine will eliminate all remnants of terroir in the resulting wine. It’s not uncommon for winemakers that practice heavier manipulations to speak about “terroir” in their wine — even where none exists — because it’s a word that boosts sales, but those winemakers are full absolutely full of sh*t and so is their wine.

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