If there’s one word people use to make wine sound poetic, it’s terroir—that idea that a place somehow leaves a fingerprint on a bottle. The romance is real, but the mechanism is practical. Grapes reflect their environment because vines can’t move. They respond to whatever climate and soil give them, and those responses show up in aroma, flavor, tannin, acidity, and texture.
Start with climate. Vines ride a narrow comfort zone. Too hot, and grapes ripen quickly, lose acidity, and slide toward jammy sweetness. Too cold, and they never fully ripen, leaving flavors sharp and green. Too wet, and disease thrives; too dry, and the vines shut down to protect themselves. A warm site might give you tropical Chardonnay, while a cool one delivers lemon and salt. Same grape, totally different expression.
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