In a (French) word, terroir: the concept that wine reflects the weather, soil, geology and topography of the land on which the grapes are grown, and that the most unique and exceptional wines come from a single exceptional vineyard.
You've had the heirloom tomatoes and artisanal, grass-fed steaks, the small-production wine so perfectly translated from the soil you can almost taste the olive trees growing beside the vine rows.
Grapes from five of the six authorized zones in the Cognac region are represented: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne (in this case champagne means the chalkiness of the soil and not the sparkling wine region), Fins Bois, Bon Bois and Borderies.
Now, Dr Charters has set about trying to help growers in the Champagne region decide the future of their industry, notably the trend towards smaller, more distinctive brands that reflect a particular "terroir" -- the combination of climate and soil composition that gives a wine its character.
Ferrand, whom they bought out, was located in Grande Champagne, the most prestigious of the six cognac districts. (Champagne refers to chalky soil, also found where the sparkling wine of the same name is made.) That lucky happenstance gave Andreu and Gabriel the idea of creating a single-district cognac, similar to the single-malt Scotch brands like Macallan and Laphroaig that revitalized the Scotch business in the 1980s.
Each explores eight wines, including the specific soil, climatic effects on grapes, and nuances of the wine's flavor profile.
The principle is similar to that of terroir, where the soil and climate in a particular area impart distinctive qualities into wine.
Like wine grapes, hops are said to reflect the specific character of their soil, climate and farming technique, and the best ones are highly coveted.
Produced on the island for centuries from sun-dried Zibbibo grapes, the lush dessert wine sings of terroir: of peaches, figs, honey and the Pantescan sea, soil and sun.
It's an article of faith among French winemakers that the composition of the soil and its mineral components are the most important determinants of the character of the resulting wine.
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This is thanks in part to the climate and in part to the soil, a mixture of limestone and clay and thousands of fossilized oyster shells (a wine snob could probably even name the type of oyster).
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Cappadocia has one of the world's oldest wine industries, which stretches back some 4, 000 years to the Hittites, the first to recognise the volcanic soil's viticultural qualities, and to carve rock cellars.
Fortunately for those with a tooth for it, the artisan mezcaleros in places like the mezcal heartland of Oaxaca still craft the old fire-smoked, close-to-the-soil nectar, a drink as specifically rooted in its origins and as various in its outcomes as fine wine.
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