his is maximized with absorbent soils. ‘Terroir’ makes it apparent that weathered rock that has a variety of sources builds up a better soil profile for the vine. The long section describing the soils of Champagne and how the older calcareous weathered rocks are best when mixed with particles from younger lignitic rocks (a low grade of coal) is very convincing. This mixing is also explained in the Alsace region and is an important insight.
Perhaps most of this was known but the detailed manner in which it is set out is authoritative. Sections like that detailing the soil profiles across the best of Burgundy are valuable new information. Also so many of the vineyards in France are related to the weathering of limestone that you must conclude it is the favoured rock of the vine. We have some limestone such as along the Limestone Coast but it is not common elsewhere. Also there are many references to red wines liking limestone soils but its better when it is mixed with silts and clays or to use an imprecise term, reds like heavier soils than whites. Reference is also made to the depth of root penetration and it would seem the more physical and chemical variability of soil layers for roots to grow across the better.
This book received little attention on release and while it is specialised and perhaps not for the general wine enthusiast the comments made by a few of the major wine reviewers came as a surprise. I recall a review in the influential American wine magazine ‘Wine Spectator’ by Harvey Steiman. In a short review he said the following; ‘unfortunately he too often fails to link the geology to the character of specific wines’. At the end of the review mention was made of how he could now picture the soils and slopes of French vineyards but, ‘I just wish he had applied as much diligence to correlating all of that to the individual wines’. I find this a very harsh judgement. James Halliday, said in the Australian Gourmet Traveller, April/May, 2002; in a brief reference to the book; ‘and utterly failed to show a convincing connection between geology and the wines of any of those regions’.
The geology of any area covers the rock types, the weathered rock and soils and the formation of the landscape. That’s it. It cannot relate any facet of these elements back to the taste of a wine. ‘Terroir’ gives many plausible examples of why vineyards close together produce wines of different flavours and it does confirm how that relates to the geology. This type of information is specific to each area because geology is so variable, meaning the information gleaned is also not directly transferable. Geology sets the scene but it cannot suggest that this wine tastes like slate or tastes of specific minerals in a way that can be related back to the rock geology. Naturally these explanations come well after each area was planted and it is doubtful if detailed ‘geological’ surveys would be of much use in a continent that had not seen vines. Better to find where the grape likes to grow by trial and error. The geologist in this case came along well after the event when the different tastes had already been worked out. What is does do is give us a better understanding and confirms why areas are different. In the new world this is still not decided and these sorts of studies may have much more use.
Wilson’s book is interesting in another way as well because it shows how rapidly wine commentary is evolving. On reflection it is now obvious that the Hugh Johnson wine atlas published in 1971 altered the way we imagine wine and this book continues the trend. The third edition of ‘Alsace its Wine Garden, Cellars and Cuisine’ by S.F. Hallgarten published in 1978 has less to say about Alsace than this book, confirming that a map tells a thousand words.
It has though left me with one query. Since aspect is so important for European vineyards why is it that the great vineyards of Burgundy and Alsace must face East but the lonely area in between, Chablis, has its best vineyards facing South West?