![]() ![]() Alsace's geodiversity is thus due to a long geological history, from the Variscan range nearly 350 million years ago to the alluvium that is still deposited in rivers today. On the edge of the Vosges, the vines are rooted over granite, gneiss or schist foundations. They produce wines of varying styles, depending on the proportion of clay in the soil: spicy with a characteristic flinty bouquet.Ī vineyard that has come down to us from ancient times Sauvignon provides elegant, light, fruity and perfumed wines with more marked varietal aromas (evoking boxwood or blackcurrant leaf).įinally, the chailloux, very siliceous ochre-coloured soils that were originally formed under a hot and humid climate by the alteration of Cretaceous rocks, are found on the slopes of the Sancerre and Saint-Andelain hills. A wide variety of winesĬaillottes soil on hard ground, and griottes soil on softer ground, are very stony and warm up more quickly leading to earlier ripening of the grapes with lower acidity and sugar content than the terres blanches soil. These siliceous rocks were deposited in valleys about 40 million years ago! Geologists speak of an inversion of relief, whereby the softer surrounding land (marl and limestone) has been eroded while the harder flint rocks have protected the ground of the Sancerroise and Andelain hills. The hill has survived erosion for several thousand centuries thanks to its solid cap of flint conglomerates. The landscape of Sancerre is characteristic with its hillock on which the village was built. It is also the relief that partly influences the quality and diversity of the wines, depending on the exposure of the slopes. The topography, i.e., the relief and its morphology, depends on the type of rocks making up the subsoil and its structure. However, geology clearly influences the characteristics that define a terroir. The recurring question of the role of geology on the typical nature of a wine and thus of a terroir is also relevant here. It is the combination of the characteristics of the natural environment and the know-how of the winegrowers that contribute to the typical characteristics of a wine, and at the same time, reveal those of its terroir.īetween the Loire Valley and Burgundy, the vineyards of Sancerre and Pouilly-sur-Loire are a good illustration of this concept of terroir. In other words, the notion of terroir implies a strong regional identity, similar to an actual ecosystem. Terroir includes specific soil, topography, climate, landscape characteristics and biodiversity features.” Originally referring to the land of a village community, the word, which is at least six centuries old, has now been defined by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine: “Vitivinicultural terroir is a concept which refers to an area in which collective knowledge of the interactions between the identifiable physical and biological environment and applied vitivinicultural practices develops, providing distinctive characteristics for the products originating from this area. This French word has become universal because it is used in most languages. ![]()
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