Why Terroir Means Everything for Virginia Wine

On my way to the next tasting booth at the recent James River Wine Festival, I was stopped in my tracks. A wine pourer had used the word “terroir.” I looked up at that precise moment to witness an inquiring taster eyeing the color of a sample, smacking his lips and listening to the rambling lecture.

This loaded French word is used to describe the influence the environment bestows upon varietals – such as climate, soil type and topography. During my sip of Totally Red from Lake Anna Winery, I thought about the concept of terroir even more. My thoughts led me back to growing up in Fauquier County and digging in the clay-like soil, plucking out earthworms. Then I thought about my fourth grade lessons in Virginia geography and how the various regions are responsible for different terroir. Virginia’s wineries invest immeasurable time and money to be experts of their soil, climate and topography. When it comes to presenting their wines, they reveal only the obvious qualities and winemaking techniques, such as storage in stainless steel tanks or aging in oak barrels. We hear very little, if nothing, about terroir.

Miss Hanback, my beloved fourth grade teacher, ingrained Virginia’s regions quite well to my memory. The Tidewater region’s soil is known for its sandy qualities and can be almost chalky when dry. Only a few wineries have successfully established vineyards in this region – such as Bloxom Winery, The Williamsburg Winery, and Chatham Winery to name a few. The Piedmont, known for its claylike qualities, hosts the most wineries in Virginia, especially Northern Virginia and areas west of Richmond. The Mountain/Ridge/Valley region contains more gravelly soil, obviously, and hosts a number of wineries perched on mountaintops. I truly believe that when we take a sip of wine we taste the spirit of the soil, known as goût de terroir (taste of the earth). This French lesson is very apropos when assessing Virginia wines because our microclimates and soil are comparable to those of the famous winegrowing regions of France, including Bordeaux.

Ask anyone who has lived or visited Virginia during the summer and they will tell you the heat and humidity can force you indoors. Winters are generally mild with the occasional extremity of a blizzard or storm. Whatever stress and strain grapes endure up to harvest ultimately affects wine quality and taste. More specifically, the weather conditions during the last 6 weeks prior to harvest are most important. Rainy days before or during harvest can be detrimental. Ideal harvest conditions are warm days and cool nights. It is up to the winemaker or viticulturist which characteristics he or she wants to optimize in the grapes. Common variables are sugar content, acidity, and aroma compounds.

Generally, the winemaker has less control on terroir variables to influence the result. Angle of incline is an influence on the outcome as well as position relative to the sun. Sunlight is crucial for photosynthesis to produce sugars. The canopy, or leaf coverage over the grape clusters, can be pulled back to increase the brix or sugar content. Horton Vineyards, a popular winery near Charlottesville, experimented with the Viognier grape in 1989, a then foreign varietal to Virginia. 1993 was a very dry year in Virginia and resulted in a low yield but also an amazing vintage that won awards in California. Nationwide press highlighted this new winery, located in – who knew – in Virginia. Today, Viognier appears on many Virginia winery rosters. A rare varietal in Virginia is Gewürztraminer. While Voignier is achieving continued success, Virginia’s climate makes it difficult for Gewürztraminer to thrive as it prefers cooler climates.

Let’s not forget the animals that constantly visit the vineyards – from pooping to nesting – their participation is a small, but a vital part of terroir. Some vineyards have encouraged chickens to roam freely among the rows of grapevines feeding on cutworms and parasites. It is these types of vineyard management techniques, knowledge and planning that can result in a successful harvest. Using nature against nature is something heavily employed and marketed with success in California with organic wines, such as Bonterra (which translates to “good earth” or even deeper, “good terroir”). These techniques tend to be less common in Virginia, even with the rising demand and interest for organics. Even though Virginia has over 160 wineries, many of them yield very little. Organically-cultivated grapes or wines are not a priority in Virginia.

Turns out, it gets even more complicated than a fourth grade lesson when it comes to Virginia’s geography and grape cultivation. Virginia is divided up into 6 AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) or designated wine-grape growing regions. What does the US government know about geographical regions ideal to viticulture? Very little, so that’s why they leave it up to wineries and other petitioners to define an AVA. Their requirements are to provide a name that accurately defines it (such as the Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace AVA or Monticello AVA). They must provide legitimacy of the boundaries and most importantly prove that the growing conditions like soil, climate and elevation – terroir – are distinctive. It’s worth noting that 85% of the grapes used to make a wine must be grown in the specified area if an AVA is to be represented on its label. The truth is in the terroir.

More and more wineries are depending on grapes from various co-op growers throughout Virginia (sometimes even outside of the state). This makes it difficult to assess if AVAs within Virginia are distinct on the palette. However, many winemakers also see obtaining grapes from various co-ops (and AVAs throughout Virginia) as an advantage when creating blends.

Many Virginia wineries are missing out on an opportunity to produce and market wines based on terroir. More are actually downplaying it and hoping to make a good, marketable wine. Back in November, when I stayed as a guest of the Duffelers, owners of the Williamsburg Winery, we discussed this very subject. When tasting a wine we always hear things like buttery, vanilla notes, hints of berries, even graphite but never three summers ago there was a drought, which made this vintage much sweeter than other years, or we reduced the canopy to increase brix and speed up the maturity of grapes. Instead we hold out our glasses, trying to imagine what we taste, ignoring the story behind the vintage. The Williamsburg Winery is a true role model, if not the golden child, of Virginia’s wineries – not only for its proximity to and preservation of Colonial-era viticulture history. A reserve wine tasting at the Williamsburg Winery includes a thorough and honest explanation of the terroir for each varietal before the major winemaking techniques are detailed. Such details are a challenge to take in during a tasting – but are crucial in understanding the whole story.

Virginia wineries are terrified of overwhelming their audience or first-time tasters. They want to appeal to their already-acquired tastes and vocabulary. Virginia wineries believe tasters are already cynical or don’t take wine from this state seriously. Washington, California and France constantly overshadow Virginia and most consumers choose a wine that isn’t from our state. There is an opportunity to introduce terroir education at tasting booths and rooms without making people roll their eyes. Revealing terroir details will not make the wine taste better but the experience overall. It may be also the one factor that gives Virginia a nudge closer to respect.

A winery just north of Melbourne, Australia, gives a history lesson with each description of wine – even detailing how a particular drought matured the tannins much faster than in previous years followed by the wine description and notes. If Virginia wineries were to employ and integrate more terroir education into tasting experiences, it would not overwhelm the taster as we may think. Letting the winemaker present the wines rather than rely on tired marketing techniques will greatly enhance our understanding of terroir for each particular varietal and even blend. I’m not saying to replace each wine pourer at festivals with actual winemakers or write essays on labels. It is the winemaker’s responsibility to educate winery staff and festival pourers about terroir so they can educate visitors on what makes their wine so unique.

A visitor to Virginia touring a number of wineries can be easily overwhelmed by the all the varietals and wineries. After a long day of tasting, the mind gets fuzzy – understandably. Fields and fields of manicured vines are displayed proudly in front of the winery house. Once the wine is being poured in the air-conditioned tasting room or a dank cellar, our minds become fixated only on what is in the glass. Aided with a handful of oyster crackers, the taste eventually leaves our palette. Its opportunity to make an impression is over. Revealing terroir would help varietals and wineries stand out. The palette has a memory too and aided with context of the grape, the taster more likely to remember and appreciate its uniqueness. The next time a purchase is made at a retailer, the customer may think about the amount of craftsmanship that went into working with and against terroir. And it may even be a bottle from Virginia that lands in the shopping cart.