SFChron: Vineyard Irragation

Interesting & informative article in today's SFChron by Alice Feiring on vineyard irragation, pros & cons. The Flat Earthers...errrrrr...Dry Farmers claim that irrigation destroys terroir in wine because the roots don't need to go down as deep and, therefore, don't pick up as much in the way of minerals that make for terroir in the wine. I'm a bit suspicious of that claim.
So...if the roots are near the surface and pick up a different set of minerals than a vine whose roots must go deep and picks up a different aggregation of minerals....which vine produces the truest expression of terroir??
Talk amongst yourselves.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/01/WIG8OQ1CII1.DTL

Interesting & informative article in today's SFChron by Alice Feiring on vineyard irragation, pros & cons. The Flat Earthers...errrrrr...Dry Farmers claim that irrigation destroys terroir in wine because the roots don't need to go down as deep and, therefore, don't pick up as much in the way of minerals that make for terroir in the wine. I'm a bit suspicious of that claim.
So...if the roots are near the surface and pick up a different set of minerals than a vine whose roots must go deep and picks up a different aggregation of minerals....which vine produces the truest expression of terroir??
Talk amongst yourselves.

Well, it's hard to argue with the salutary effects of dry farming in a Mediterranean climate when you see what the vignerons of the S. Rhone, Languedoc and Provence can do. Moreover, Rod Berglund at Joe Swan, for one, is a dry farmer (except in extremis) and IMO produces some of the most individualistic expressions of CA grape varieties in all of the state. Not necessarily cause and effect, but it does give pause for thought.

That view of terroir, however, seems to me to be misguided. To me, the most useful definition of terroir is simply a sense of place, and there's no question that if you irrigate a grape vine you remove one of the effects of location (growing season rainfall). There's a reason why all those Grand Cru vineyards are located on the higher slopes in Burgundy.

Just my $0.02,
Mark Lipton

There's also the aspect of not depleting the aquifer, as is happening in many places.

The article did not address salinization of the soil, another long-term problem with irrigation.

I have read, time after time, year after year, how stressing the vines makes for better wines. Why would this not be the case with irrigation (or its absence)?

[David M. Bueker]

The more time goes on the more I just want to judge by what's in the bottle, and not deal with philosophical arguments that can almost never be proven.

If someone makes a good wine but irrigates then so be it. If they make good wine and don't irrigate then that's fine too.

Remember that putting wine in a bottle is manipulation. Is a wine that just flows into your mouth from a crushed grape more true to terroir? Maybe, but it's also a pain in the #$^#.

The more time goes on the more I just want to judge by what's in the bottle, and not deal with philosophical arguments that can almost never be proven.

If someone makes a good wine but irrigates then so be it. If they make good wine and don't irrigate then that's fine too.

Remember that putting wine in a bottle is manipulation. Is a wine that just flows into your mouth from a crushed grape more true to terroir? Maybe, but it's also a pain in the #$^#.

Thanks for nipping this discussion in the bud. I'm so tired of never ending threads pertaining to aspects of terroir that go nowhere.

Interesting & informative article in today's SFChron by Alice Feiring on vineyard irragation, pros & cons.

This was both interesting and informative. Thanks for posting it.

-- Clark

Thanks for nipping this discussion in the bud. I'm so tired of never ending threads pertaining to aspects of terroir that go nowhere.

Awwwww, Lou
Don't be such a cantankerous curmudgeon. This is gonna be the thread that resolves the terrior discussion once & for all. Then we can talk more serious matters...like how many angels can dance on the head of a pin!!!
Tom

The more time goes on the more I just want to judge by what's in the bottle, and not deal with philosophical arguments that can almost never be proven.

If someone makes a good wine but irrigates then so be it. If they make good wine and don't irrigate then that's fine too.

Remember that putting wine in a bottle is manipulation. Is a wine that just flows into your mouth from a crushed grape more true to terroir? Maybe, but it's also a pain in the #$^#.

Thanks for nipping this discussion in the bud. I'm so tired of never ending threads pertaining to aspects of terroir that go nowhere.

I dunno. I just like to know how something is made and what's going into it. The more I know, the better I can guesstimate what's in the bottle. It's not really philosophical to me. I mean whether you put onions and garlic into your tomato sauce or just onions or just garlic is a technical and maybe philosophical question for the chef. For me, Mr. Caveat-Emptoring Consumer, it helps me judge what to expect. If I find I'm partial to certain wines made with certain practices, either in the vineyard or in the winery, then I'm glad to discover that information before I buy. And, although the concept of terroir may be transcendental to some, to me the discussion of it is more fundamentally a simple indicator of method which may or may not be helpful in guiding my purchases when I am on terra incognita.

Anyway, after knocking down a couple of bottles of wine, what else would you want to talk about? Women? Cars? Politics? Religion?

Anyway, after knocking down a couple of bottles of wine, what else would you want to talk about? Women? Cars? Politics? Religion?

Sure, all of the above.

And Higg's bosons too, of course.

[David M. Bueker]

The more time goes on the more I just want to judge by what's in the bottle, and not deal with philosophical arguments that can almost never be proven.

If someone makes a good wine but irrigates then so be it. If they make good wine and don't irrigate then that's fine too.

Remember that putting wine in a bottle is manipulation. Is a wine that just flows into your mouth from a crushed grape more true to terroir? Maybe, but it's also a pain in the #$^#.

Thanks for nipping this discussion in the bud. I'm so tired of never ending threads pertaining to aspects of terroir that go nowhere.

I dunno. I just like to know how something is made and what's going into it. The more I know, the better I can guesstimate what's in the bottle.

I like knowing how a wine was made, but the "my way is the true way to terroir" discussions have worn me out. That was my point.

Irrigation is allowed in Austria which, in my mind, provides some fabulous terroir driven wines.