Ter wahr
“A French word, though difficult to define, defines Pino noir like nothing else. So it’s not just the slope of the land, and the way the sun hits the hillside, it’s how everything comes together.
It’s a sense of the place; of the sun, of the rain, of the soil, of our footsteps through the vineyard, of the bluebirds that fly around, it’s all reflected in the taste of the wine.
Bethel Heights took us out into their vineyard to their East and South East Blocks. These vines are separated by the width of a tractor axle; and yet each is remarkably distinct. They say, "Now imagine if these 2 blocks were even closer; would they taste this differently?"
The variations of varietals is an astounding characteristic of the grapes grown here. Indeed, differences can be appreciated elsewhere in the wine world, but Oregon makes the point, that ter wahr, can be a matter of a few feet.
Ter wahr: Fact or Fiction?
(Reflection of Place, a reflection of the place where the wine is grown. Or, "It tastes like the dirt it's grown in", or, "A strong connection between the land and the wine"
What is tehr wahr)? ter wahr is the notion that the growing site defines a wine's character.
Say the word "ter wahr" to a wine lover, and you're likely to see that the debate over the importance of ter wahr, or the lack of importance, is in high gear. Particularly, now that so-called "New World" winemakers, (like those in California & Oregon), have decided that ter wahr is, "where it's at", in the scheme of modern winegrowing.
"Where it's at" is precisely the point of ter wahr.
This very French concept purports, that the place where the grapes are grown, is what gives a particular wine its style, and flavor, (its "typicity", as wine professionals call it). And that place is very specific, usually a single vineyard or parcel of land, or in a larger sense, the A V A (American Viticulture Area) or an appellation if you're in the "Old World" (an area delimited by the government as being recognized for its specific type of ter wahr)
There are 4 basic elements of ter wahr
Mr. Tunnell and his wife, Melissa Mills, live in the brick house on their farm, the namesake of their label, and keep an organic garden. "In the beginning, he says, the vines looked pretty weird for a while, and they had to compete with everything from hardy native grasses to fungal diseases. We did a lot of hand hoeing and planting of cover crops. And we learned that things like vegetable oils are really effective against mildew."
Additionally, the Willamette Valley vineyards are typically dry-farmed as part of the ter wahr. Through dry-farming, the deep growing plants interact with the microbes in the soil (& mother rock - See Ken Wright Video about the mother rock), absorbing nutrients and minerals that contribute to the complexity and structure in the wine.
So far so good - not too many people would argue with the idea that wines from France have a different character than those from Oregon.
But it's when you ask for a more specific definition of ter wahr that ideas start to diverge. Many people think that the word ter wahr, which has no exact English translation (the closest term would be "territory" or A V A), refers to the type of soil present in a particular vineyard.
They would therefore assert, that grapes grown in a clay sedimentary soil, for example, have a different character than those grown in a volcanic soil.
In the Dundee Hills, for example, wine makers will swear, that it's the particular type of black silt loam of volcanic soil, that give the wines their characteristic complexity and aromatics.
It's what the French call the "gout du ter wahr" (the taste of the ter wahr)
And indeed, when you taste the wines, you'd swear it were true.
But no scientific test to date has been able to establish any direct relationship between the soil type, and the character of the wines, made from grapes grown in that soil.
One of the mysteries of wine perhaps?
Click here to learn more about Ter wahr.
“A French word, though difficult to define, defines Pino noir like nothing else. So it’s not just the slope of the land, and the way the sun hits the hillside, it’s how everything comes together.
It’s a sense of the place; of the sun, of the rain, of the soil, of our footsteps through the vineyard, of the bluebirds that fly around, it’s all reflected in the taste of the wine.
Bethel Heights took us out into their vineyard to their East and South East Blocks. These vines are separated by the width of a tractor axle; and yet each is remarkably distinct. They say, "Now imagine if these 2 blocks were even closer; would they taste this differently?"
The variations of varietals is an astounding characteristic of the grapes grown here. Indeed, differences can be appreciated elsewhere in the wine world, but Oregon makes the point, that ter wahr, can be a matter of a few feet.
Ter wahr: Fact or Fiction?
(Reflection of Place, a reflection of the place where the wine is grown. Or, "It tastes like the dirt it's grown in", or, "A strong connection between the land and the wine"
What is tehr wahr)? ter wahr is the notion that the growing site defines a wine's character.
Say the word "ter wahr" to a wine lover, and you're likely to see that the debate over the importance of ter wahr, or the lack of importance, is in high gear. Particularly, now that so-called "New World" winemakers, (like those in California & Oregon), have decided that ter wahr is, "where it's at", in the scheme of modern winegrowing.
"Where it's at" is precisely the point of ter wahr.
This very French concept purports, that the place where the grapes are grown, is what gives a particular wine its style, and flavor, (its "typicity", as wine professionals call it). And that place is very specific, usually a single vineyard or parcel of land, or in a larger sense, the A V A (American Viticulture Area) or an appellation if you're in the "Old World" (an area delimited by the government as being recognized for its specific type of ter wahr)
There are 4 basic elements of ter wahr
- Climate - Wine regions can be basically divided into two types of climates: cool climate and warm climate. Wine grapes from warmer climates generate higher sugar levels (which produce higher alcohol wines), whereas cooler climate wine grapes, generally have lower sugar levels and retain more acidity.
For instance. The Eola-Amity Hills A V A and Van Duzer Corridor A V A receive just a touch more, nighttime coolness, (because of the Van Duzer Corridor in the Coastal Mountain range), than the Dundee Hills A V A for example. While both regions produce Pino Noir, the Eola-Hills produces Pino wines with greater natural acidity because of the weather. - Soil - There are hundreds of different types of soil, rock and mineral deposits in the world’s vineyards. Most vineyard soils can be sorted into about 5 to 6 different types, that affect the flavor of wine. While there is no scientific proof associating the taste of ‘minerality’ to actual minerals in a wine, something does happen. It’s almost as though some types of soils act like a tea-bag for water as it passes through to the vine’s roots.
For instance; The Willamette Valley is marked by 16 million year old volcanic soils. Jory, (volcanic) soil series, are very deep, well drained soils developed from materials that have been transported from higher slopes, colluvium, and weathered from basic igneous (basalt) bedrock. - Terrain - Believe it or not, altitude is an increasingly important focus for quality vineyards. Besides elevation, things like geological features (mountains, valleys, being located far inland), other flora (plants, microbes and trees) and large bodies of water, affect how a wine from a particular region tastes.
For instance The Willamette Valley has vineyards up to 1 thousand feet above sea level, and corridors, allowing cool marine breezes to flow in. The high elevation & corridors gives Pino heightened acidity due to cool nighttime temperatures. Within the Valley, the Eola Hills & Dundee Hills sub regions, are famous for its high quality, age-worthy Pinos. - Tradition*(*only in areas entrenched with a particular wine making tradition) - Traditional wine making (and vineyard growing) techniques can also contribute to a wine’s ter wahr. Even though tradition is a human interaction, ancient wine making methods tend to be highly dependent on the region’s climate, soil and terrain.
Mr. Tunnell and his wife, Melissa Mills, live in the brick house on their farm, the namesake of their label, and keep an organic garden. "In the beginning, he says, the vines looked pretty weird for a while, and they had to compete with everything from hardy native grasses to fungal diseases. We did a lot of hand hoeing and planting of cover crops. And we learned that things like vegetable oils are really effective against mildew."
Additionally, the Willamette Valley vineyards are typically dry-farmed as part of the ter wahr. Through dry-farming, the deep growing plants interact with the microbes in the soil (& mother rock - See Ken Wright Video about the mother rock), absorbing nutrients and minerals that contribute to the complexity and structure in the wine.
So far so good - not too many people would argue with the idea that wines from France have a different character than those from Oregon.
But it's when you ask for a more specific definition of ter wahr that ideas start to diverge. Many people think that the word ter wahr, which has no exact English translation (the closest term would be "territory" or A V A), refers to the type of soil present in a particular vineyard.
They would therefore assert, that grapes grown in a clay sedimentary soil, for example, have a different character than those grown in a volcanic soil.
In the Dundee Hills, for example, wine makers will swear, that it's the particular type of black silt loam of volcanic soil, that give the wines their characteristic complexity and aromatics.
It's what the French call the "gout du ter wahr" (the taste of the ter wahr)
And indeed, when you taste the wines, you'd swear it were true.
But no scientific test to date has been able to establish any direct relationship between the soil type, and the character of the wines, made from grapes grown in that soil.
One of the mysteries of wine perhaps?
Click here to learn more about Ter wahr.