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Making Wine to Express Terroir

Jim Law - Linden Vineyards, Virginia

“Modern man, in his eagerness to understand everything in order to
master it, spends his time classifying, filing and organizing. It is obvious
that the indefinable, the unclassifiable and the unusual confuse our
modern thought processes. So it should come as no surprise that the
notion of terroir suffers while the grape variety gains importance, or that
the “commercially correct” spectrum of aromas is confined to the fresh,
easy and simple to the detriment of more unusual aromas (mineral notes,
lees….).” Andre Ostertag, Alsace
I. What is the goal? Typicity, Minerality, Ageability...not varietal character
A. Wines with soul, not industrial wines
B. How to insult a Burgundian winemaker
C. Acquire an Old World palate
II. Single vineyard bottlings: it takes much more time to learn the
personality of the vineyard rather than blend for harmony
III. Harvest criteria:
A. Whites=quality and level of acidity
B. Reds= ‘crunchy’ red fruit and ripe tannins
IV. Picking by block and keeping lots small
A. Young vines vs. old vines
B. Soil and slope differences
V. Noninterventionist wine making: minimize additives (especially acids
and tannins)
VI. Balance and place expression
A. “High’ brix: from friend to foe
B. Vegetal vs. Savory
C. Appropriate extraction in reds
D. Pressing strategies in whites and dirty juice
E. Lees
F. Understanding barrels and the interaction of oak and terroir
G. Blending for single vineyard (terroir) expression
“Terroir speaks in a very still, small voice. It is not easy to hear it above
the stentorian tones of 100% new oak, 15% alcohol and the extreme
tannic extraction that we fine in modern wines”. Randall Graham