LIQUID INVESTMENT
MICHAEL FRIDJHON: What a tasting says about site, soil and the root of flavour
"Precious little is known about how the connection between place and product manifests itself in the final object."
In discussions about inherent wine quality, the word "terroir" is used with the same enthusiasm and lack of precision as the feel-good concepts that pepper the preambles of most modern national constitutions. The belief in the importance of origin enjoys a status similar to religious dogma in the Middle Ages. Despite this, precious little is known about how the connection between place and product manifests itself in the final object. As Andrew Jefford says, "the relationship between rock, soil and wine flavour is as little understood as it is widely celebrated. There is a long-held European belief that nothing matters more than the medium in which vines are rooted and growers will often dazzle visitors with their command of exotic geological detail." Alex Maltman, a career geologist with a deep personal interest in the connection between soil and wine, has produced a series of peer-reviewed articles showing the lack of any direct, scientifically quantifiable, causal relationship be...
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