Beyond Terroir: Why Wine and Place Are Inextricably Linked on the Palate
Why tuning into the natural world changes how we taste our wine.
Greenough, Montana in winter is a tableau of snow-covered pines, taupe, contoured hills, emerald and aquamarine rivers, and dense, fragrant evergreen forests. Its still, silent, intangible storybook beauty seems unreal, yet is somehow immediate and authentic. Drawing inspiration from the depth of life beneath the snow, Cameron Tyler, director of restaurants at companion properties the green o and The Resort at Paws Up in western Montana, often features a Cabernet Sauvignon from Walla Walla’s Gramercy Cellars at both resorts because “It’s “balanced, with ripeness and purity, and has a green pine character in the finish. What’s under the surface reflects the core of where it’s from.”
Tyler believes that many people journey to Montana “to sit with themselves, sit with nature, and focus on what they are experiencing without distractions.” The keen attention to one’s surroundings is similar to the Japanese practice of forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, where keying into one’s surroundings reveals subtleties like birdsong, aromas of pine and other flora, and the gradual reemergence of wildlife and greenery in early spring. Taking stock of such sensory impressions, per the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, is a way to refocus on the body while connecting to the various senses. It also, as Tyler has noticed, presents a unique way to engage with wine.
Instinctively, Tyler selects wines that complement the elements of the natural world that visitors to Montana are tuning in to, finding layers of flavor and aroma that mirror the signature smells and sights of each season. In addition to accenting pine in Cabernet Sauvignon in winter, in autumn, as Greenough’s larch needles showcase a warm orange, yellow, red, and green spectrum, Tyler turns to Purple Hands’ organic Pinot Noir from the Haakon Lenai vineyard, composed of Jory volcanic soil, in Oregon’s Dundee Hills AVA. “It’s warm, with an earthy, dusty, mushroom character, and elegance,” he says. When wildflowers, deer, elk, bears, and rabbits emerge in spring, Summer Dreams’ Sauvignon Blanc by Sonoma winemaker Jayson Woodbridge captures regeneration in a refreshing and complex wine.
While paying close attention to our natural surroundings generally invites self-reflection and transformation, “pairing” this attentiveness with wine appreciation makes the natural world a reference point through which a particular wine can be appreciated. This is a little different from understanding terroir, focusing instead on a sensory connection between the natural environment and wine to appreciate subtle flavors and aromas, and to in turn connect our own memories and lived experiences to the wines we are consuming.
Pairing Wine With Nature to Recognize Subtle Flavors and Aromas
Penelope Naish, owner of Black Estate on New Zealand’s South Island, says that the vineyard is “the ultimate context” for tasting wines. For example, from the top block of Black Estate’s Home Vineyard, overlooking the Waipara Valley in North Canterbury, visitors can see hawks, hedgehogs, and starlings, as well as colorful sunsets, blue skies, and rainstorms. Variable winds bring the cool climate immediately to life and complement the freshness and immediacy of crisp white peach and nectarine notes in the Home Chardonnay, which is grown from original Black Estate Chardonnay vines planted in 1994. On the other hand, says Matthew Crafton, winemaker at Chateau Montelena, where the Hillside Terrace is shaded by redwoods and carved into a Calistoga hillside, Cabernet Sauvignon estate blocks impart a cedar characteristic that stands out when tasted in the vineyard. “Rather than pursuing a specific flavor or profile, we connect each disparate element of our estate to express place and vintage,” says Crafton.
For Jason Lede, second-generation vintner and general manager at Cliff Lede Vineyards, the dramatic rocky outcroppings and quick grade-shift beneath the Stags Leap Palisades underscore the way the vines struggle through rugged, rocky vineyards. Cliff Lede’s Poetry Vineyard stretches to some of the highest points of the Stags Leap District, with rocky, rugged volcanic outcroppings and an intensely steep grade, while below, the earth “seems to fall out from under you and the patchwork of vineyard blocks below tiles the valley floor,” says Lede.
Sebastian Donoso, winemaker for 1000 Stories, which collaborates with Yellowstone Forever to rewild and protect native bison, emphasizes the importance of taking in the “whole environment” when one is tasting wine. “The soils nurture the vines, the trees give clues about what is happening in the ground, and even the rocks soak up heat to warm the vineyard. All those natural elements leave a mark,” says Donoso.
Opening the senses to one’s surroundings, and to the surroundings of the vines themselves, creates a deeper level of connection and appreciation for a wine’s origin story, and what exactly contributes to its unique characteristics.
Connecting Wine, Place, and Memory
Heightened awareness of the natural world while tasting wine also taps into profound personal connections, with nature becoming a portal to our own memories and reflections. “Being fully present within your surroundings enhances the taste of wine,” says Chris Kajani, winemaker for Bouchaine Vineyards in the Carneros AVA. “When connected to our surroundings (or your people), the wine will sing. By contrast, in stressful, loud, or dingy surroundings, the wine may taste closed or tight.” Torie Greenberg, co-founder and vintner at The Vice Napa Valley Wines, further connects wine with memory. “In most cases, we remember not just a wine itself, but the environment we are in,” she says.
In a study of Polish artist Anna Królikiewicz, who builds installations connecting taste and memory, writer Dorota Koczanowicz describes how “our taste buds preserve inscriptions of prior culinary experiences, which are bound up with the memory of their contexts and circumstances.” She adds that “taste and smell are associated with episodic memory, whose characteristic details may persist over decades.”
A vivid example of this comes from Tallahassee-based sommelier Jordan Thorn, who connects childhood memories at the beach—“being salty and sweaty, and licking my lips and tasting the sea and Coppertone sunscreen”—with two Mediterranean grapes, Obaideh, originally from Lebanon, and and a Greek grape called Malagousia. Thorn describes Obaideh as “super briny, with salinity that brings forward a coastal breeze and tropical notes,” and Malagousia as tropical, fruity, and full-bodied.
In the present moment, Thorn says for many, “A crisp Sauvignon Blanc pairs well enough with salt, sand, and sun, as it simply takes you away from the heat.” Similarly, Eduardo Colombari at Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay, says Albariño is one of the most popular wines on the breezy, sun-dappled pool deck, as it captures crisp minerality, high acidity, and salinity.
Sometimes, Thorn says, she or a sommelier or wine professional like Tyler or Colombari can connect wine to place in a unique way. “Since we don’t always pay attention to the natural environment first, sommeliers and wine educators can help consumers try a bottle a little out of their comfort zone [using this unique approach].” This can create connections to the local environment that transport one back in time or more deeply into the present moment.
Heather Parsons, with the North Carolina-based distribution company Freedom Beverage, describes Topsail Island in North Carolina’s coastal Onslow County as breezy, particularly in the mornings, the air perfumed with the ocean and salt. Muscadet and Sancerre, says Parsons, evoke the same “rocky mineral undercurrent,” which is further reiterated when served alongside locally harvested oysters and shrimp.
Morgan Perry, founder of Vino Vinyasa, which combines wine education and yoga in lush, serene outdoor venues, observes, “Being in a natural environment invites tranquility, so you appreciate what you are smelling and tasting more than when you are in a loud bar or restaurant.”
To that end, the tranquility, wonder, and reconnection we find in nature, as writer and conservationist Terry Tempest Williams notes, remind us of “what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.” Paying close attention to our natural surroundings not only invites introspection and a renewed sense of calm, it encourages us to apply that same measure of attention to the wine in our glass, and to notice its subtleties and its story with appreciation.