First, how do you pronounce terroir? tehr·waar
There is much discussion within the industry about the exact definition of "terroir" - and how it links, or doesn't. to what we taste in our glass.
In general, the following elements are considered to be part of the definition of "terroir":
1. Climate
2. Soil
3. Terrain
- location/latitude
- geological features (coastal/inland, proximity to large bodies of water, other flora [plants/trees], etc
- elevation (mountain or valley)
- sun exposure
While the particulars of a vintage/year absolutely are a factor in defining a specific vintage of a wine - they are not included in the definition of terroir:
* Weather:
- Rainfall
- Temperatures
However, there is much debate about whether the human aspect should be included, or not:
A. Varietal planted
B. Farming practices (dry-farming, sustainable/organic/biodynamic, leaf pulling,
pruning, vine-training, canopy management, etc.)
C. Winemaking style (free run vs press, cold soaking, fermentation temperature, fermentation time, punchdowns vs pump-overs, secondary malolactic fermentation, gravity-fed, whole cluster, lees contact, oak barrel/cask/stainless/concrete/egg/amphora, % of new/neutral oak, oak origin/forest, barrel treatment/toast, how long wine is aged before bottling, fining & filtering)
I think my favorite discussion on the topic is a post in Wine Spectator by Harvey Steiman from a number of years ago.
