The Dirty Truth: Wines With Accents

So what is terroir? This wine term, which is sort of like the taste of the place, is used to describe the unique taste a wine gets from area in which it is grown. The best description of terroir I've heard, is to think of it as a wine's particular accent.

If you talk to someone from Jersey, you know where they're from immediately. Southerners have a drawl, which is different from a Texas twang. Wine's have these characteristics too.

A good winemaker wants to have the wine speak with a French or Spanish or Italian accent. The soil, climate, and altitude all contribute to a wine's accent. Wines from the Loire valley's chalky, limestone rich soil have a distinct taste. A chardonnay from California is very different from one in Burgundy. The environment has a huge impact on grapes, and getting into wine can be a geography and geology lesson.

I'm still learning about wines, but when I talk about them now, big maps of areas pop in my head. I think this is why I like wine. It hits all of my nerdy buttons. There's weird philosophies about growing grapes, tons of cultural information on different areas, scientific facts about chemistry and rocks and stuff. It never gets boring. There's always something new to learn.

I've always had trouble with languages. I took Spanish in high school and college, and if I was dying of thirst in Mexico, I would barely be able to order a beer. I'll never be able to pronounce the French or Italian words on bottles correctly, but I'm beginning to understand the language of the grapes.

As a cook for many years, I understand that something raised one way tastes very different from something raised another. The next time you look for wine in your local Decatur or Avondale Estates retailer - or wherever - or drink a glass, read the label and Google the area. See if you can taste salinity if it's grown near the ocean, or smokiness if the soil has a lot of flint.

Your wine is talking to you! Comprende?