Comments on: Turtle Creek Winery: Making Vino in Metro Boston http://www.thesecondglass.com/regions/turtle-creek-winery-making-vino-in-metro-boston/ Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:55:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Mike Corbett http://www.thesecondglass.com/regions/turtle-creek-winery-making-vino-in-metro-boston/comment-page-1/#comment-512 Mike Corbett Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:05:14 +0000 http://www.thesecondglass.com/?p=695#comment-512 I have to disagree with the comment of there being no such thing as terroir in America. How else can you explain why Bordeux varietals do so well in Napa, Chardonnay thrives in Carneros, Pint Noir in Oregon, and Reiseling in NY? And that's just varietal selection, never mind the differences between hill side and valley fruit, or using a wild yeast versus a cultivated yeast for fermentation. I think terroir definitely exists in the US, its just not as well understood as it is in France because of the relative youth of our industry. As far as making California or New York wine in Massachusetts, it’s certainly an interesting concept. But whether the fruit is from an estate vineyard a stone throw away from your winery, or a vineyard 3,000 miles away, a winemaker's job is to take what a particular season has given him/her and make processing decisions to express that vintage's best characteristics by choice of fermentation method, yeast selection, aging method, etc. I think the standard concept of terroir is expanding in the new world of winemaking. What was once a characteristic of one individual location, i.e. a small family winery in a particular DOC, has now become a complex characteristic of both where the grapes were sourced and where the wine was fermented and stored, i.e. a Napa or Sonoma winery sourcing fruit from the Central Valley. I have to disagree with the comment of there being no such thing as terroir in America. How else can you explain why Bordeux varietals do so well in Napa, Chardonnay thrives in Carneros, Pint Noir in Oregon, and Reiseling in NY? And that’s just varietal selection, never mind the differences between hill side and valley fruit, or using a wild yeast versus a cultivated yeast for fermentation. I think terroir definitely exists in the US, its just not as well understood as it is in France because of the relative youth of our industry.

As far as making California or New York wine in Massachusetts, it’s certainly an interesting concept. But whether the fruit is from an estate vineyard a stone throw away from your winery, or a vineyard 3,000 miles away, a winemaker’s job is to take what a particular season has given him/her and make processing decisions to express that vintage’s best characteristics by choice of fermentation method, yeast selection, aging method, etc.

I think the standard concept of terroir is expanding in the new world of winemaking. What was once a characteristic of one individual location, i.e. a small family winery in a particular DOC, has now become a complex characteristic of both where the grapes were sourced and where the wine was fermented and stored, i.e. a Napa or Sonoma winery sourcing fruit from the Central Valley.

]]> By: Mike http://www.thesecondglass.com/regions/turtle-creek-winery-making-vino-in-metro-boston/comment-page-1/#comment-511 Mike Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:03:51 +0000 http://www.thesecondglass.com/?p=695#comment-511 I don't know what to make of places like these. What's the point of making a California or New York wine in Massachusetts? I guess that's a broader debate over the importance of terroir versus the importance of the winemaker. I finished that book The Accidental Connoisseur recently, and he interviewed the owner/winemaker at Bonny Doon in Santa Cruz, CA, who said there's no such thing as terroir in America, so winemakers should just experiment as much as possible, regardless of where the grapes are sourced. But I don't know. It perplexes me. I don’t know what to make of places like these. What’s the point of making a California or New York wine in Massachusetts? I guess that’s a broader debate over the importance of terroir versus the importance of the winemaker. I finished that book The Accidental Connoisseur recently, and he interviewed the owner/winemaker at Bonny Doon in Santa Cruz, CA, who said there’s no such thing as terroir in America, so winemakers should just experiment as much as possible, regardless of where the grapes are sourced. But I don’t know. It perplexes me.

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