Terroir Review – Award-winning commentary on food, wine, and place

Barolo landscape

Features, Italy

The Piedmont Diaries

by Meg Maker

Notes and sentiments from four days tasting wines in the cradle of the Alps

Features, France, Visual Essays

Six Women of Languedoc Wine

Features, Portugal, Visual Essays

Whither Port?

Features, Reference, Wine Science

What is Malolactic Fermentation?

Features, Reference, Wine Science

Acidity In Wine

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Landscape of St. Chinian

An Apologia for Terroir in an Era of Tribalism

Barolo landscape

The Piedmont Diaries

Six Women of Languedoc Wine

Charlotte de Béarn with her wine in Terrasses du Larzac

Charlotte de Béarn

Isabelle Champart outside her winery

Isabelle Champart

Noémie Vidil at a tasting of St. Chinian white wines

Noémie Vidil

Céleste Renault opening bottles of Picpoul wine

Céleste Renault

Corinne Woodland and Nathalie Caumette

Corinne Woodland and Nathalie Caumette

Drawing of a range of wine bottles stylized with flowers

A Rose by Every Other Name

Meg Maker in her office

Interview With Meg Maker on the New Languages of Wine

Clouds over Cornas

Genotype, Phenotype, and the Essence of Wine

Painting of a bottle and glass of white wine sitting on a table. Sunlight is streaming through the objects making reflections and shadows.

Checking in on The New Languages of Wine

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How old is Nebbiolo?” Anna Schneider asked the r

How old is Nebbiolo?” Anna Schneider asked the room.

I should know this, I thought. Old. But how old?

I’d seen Dr. Schneider’s name referenced in Wines of Piemonte, by David Way @davidwaywine, which I’d read on the flight from Boston to Milan. She is an ampelographer, an authority on grapevine genetics, who is recently retired from over three decades of teaching and research at the University of Turin and Italy’s Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection.

Nebbiolo is a medieval grape, she explained. The first mention appears in a manuscript from 1266 that was discovered in northern Piemonte, near Torino. There’s evidence that by 1300, Nebbiolo was widely planted at the foot of the Alpine range and being used for wine production.

But Nebbiolo never spilled much beyond those borders. It’s a fussy vine that likes its native habitat; Dr. Schneider calls it “non-wandering.” Even today, Italy has 97% of global Nebbiolo acreage. That’s a contrast to, say, Chardonnay, which has wandered well beyond its cradle; Burgundy now has merely 20% of the world’s Chardonnay vines.

Nebbiolo’s parents are thought to be extinct, but research has confirmed that it is itself parent of other local grapes, including Arneis, Grignolino, and Freisa, and a sibling to many, including Nebbiolo Rosé and Nebbiolo Rosa, long thought to be synonyms for Nebbiolo until her research proved otherwise. Nebbiolo’s genetics are diverse, making it a good subject for development not only of new clones but new varieties that tolerate drought stress, water stress, and other calamities of climate change.

Read more in The Piedmont Diaries: https://terroirreview.com/2025/03/16/the-piedmont-diaries/ or link in bio

#wine #winetravel #winewriting #winecritic #winewriter #presstrip #piemonte #piedmont #italy #italianwine #vino #wines #nebbiolo #barolo #barbaresco #langhe #winemaking #winemakers #ampleography #viticulture

I especially admired a Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba

I especially admired a Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba called Garabei from Abrigo Giovanni @abrigo_giovanni. It was deep purple, concentrated, redolent of violets, anise, and licorice, with singing acidity. It made a concise argument against Dolcetto as an easy quaff.

Giulio Abrigo @giulio_abrigo, who works with his brother and parents at the winery, was seated across the table. He has a slight build and pale features, with a steel-green eyes and a mop of black curls. He said his family also produces Nebbiolo, Barbera, Favorita, and Arneis, but Dolcetto from this site is their top wine.

“Dolcetto is a simple wine, but in some cases can tell a story,” he said. “We don’t want to make something strange, rude, loud. We look for simplicity and balance.”

It’s also a tannic grape, so they’re judicious about skin contact during the first days of fermentation, to keep the wine from earning too much structure. “We work a lot in the cellar, but actually we don’t have too much technology,” he said. This wine ages in concrete, not wood.

“With this vineyard, it’s the ripening that makes the difference. It’s a rich wine, but with incredible drinkability,” he said. “Dolcetto needs to be on the table.”

Read more in The Piedmont Diaries: https://terroirreview.com/2025/03/16/the-piedmont-diaries/ or link in bio

#wine #winetravel #winewriting #winecritic #winewriter #presstrip #piemonte #piedmont #italy #italianwine #vino #wines #nebbiolo #barolo #ravera #langhe #dolcetto #winemaking #winemakers

Beiva @beiva.winery is a brand-new project, starte

“I never describe the flavors of the wine to con

“I never describe the flavors of the wine to consumers,” Virna said.

“Why not?” I asked.

“I don’t see the value,” she said. “And anyway it’s not how I think about wine.”

“Can you say more?” I said. “How do you describe your wine?”

“I say, ‘Elegant. Round. Tannic.’”

Read more: https://terroirreview.com/2025/03/16/the-piedmont-diaries/ or link on bio

#wine #barolo #winewriting #winelanguage #piemonte #italianwine #vino

In January I spent four days tasting wines in Piem

In January I spent four days tasting wines in Piemonte. I’ve tried something a little different for my report, breaking the fourth wall. I hope you enjoy it.

The Piedmont Diaries:
https://terroirreview.com/2025/03/16/the-piedmont-diaries/

Link in bio and stories.

#wine #winetravel #winewriting #winecritic #winewriter #presstrip #piemonte #piedmont #italy #italianwine #vino #wines #nebbiolo #barolo #barbaresco #roero #langhe

The world in tatters, we still have tea.

The world in tatters, we still have tea.

I live in the past, also the present and future.

I live in the past, also the present and future.
#maplesyrup #maplesugaring #horse #horses #newengland

That time of year again. #maplesugaring #maplesug

That time of year again.

#maplesugaring #maplesugaring #maplesyrup #newengland #mapletree #tap #rurallife

Wine education relies on tasting grids and formal

Wine education relies on tasting grids and formal lexicons to help novices build foundational skills. These tools help cultivate an “analytic mindset” and get learners off to a strong start.

But once they’ve attained basic mastery, learners need different tools to make the leap to expertise.

Read what two researchers have discovered, and some thoughts about what it means for wine communicators, in my latest Chair’s column for @circleofwine.

Link in bio/stories and https://www.circleofwinewriters.org/from-the-chair-to-become-a-taste-expert-move-from-specific-to-holistic/

#wine #wineeducation #winetasting #winewriting #winelexicon

Isabelle Champart, winemaker of Mas Champart Isab

Isabelle Champart, winemaker of Mas Champart

Isabelle Champart originally trained in Geography in Paris. Her husband, Matthieu, was from a farming family in Champagne. When the couple took over a family estate in St. Chinian in 1976, the fields were crowned with old vines, but they needed work.

The Champarts got going on renovations, and also planted an additional 12 hectares. For the next decade they sold grapes to the coop, but started bottling wine under their own label in 1988. Matthieu labored in the vineyard, while Isabelle made the wine, ran the cellar, and negotiated sales.

Isabelle retired in 2021, and the estate’s wines are made by a fresh talent, Noémie Vidil, whose portrait I’ve also featured in my project, Six Women of Languedoc Wine.

https://terroirreview.com/2025/02/22/isabelle-champart/

#wine #art #portrait #painting #fineart #portraiture #languedoc #vinsdulanguedoc #stchinian #winewriter #winelover #winelovers #winecountry #winetasting #winetravel #wineartist #languedocwine

Charlotte de Béarn She is the thirty-second gene

Charlotte de Béarn

She is the thirty-second generation owner-winemaker of Château de Jonquières in the Terrasses du Larzac.

Charlotte studied economics and English and earned a Master’s in Reims before returning to the estate with her husband, Clément de Béarn. The couple worked with their parents for two years to gain expertise, then in 2014 formally took the reins.

Read more and see the portrait (with details) at https://terroirreview.com/2025/02/22/charlotte-de-bearn/

#wine #art #portrait #painting #fineart #portraiture #languedoc #vinsdulanguedoc #terrassesdularzac #winewriter #winelover #winelovers #winecountry #wnetasting #winetravel #wineartist #languedocwine

Paint what you see, not what you know. Last June

Paint what you see, not what you know.

Last June, I revisited the Languedoc, one of my favorite territories in France. Instead of a standard tasting report, I’ve painted portraits of six women who work in the Languedoc wine industry.

Read my introductory essay explaining my thinking and process, then link through to each portrait.

Start here or link in bio:
https://terroirreview.com/2025/02/22/six-women-of-languedoc-wine/

#wine #art #portrait #painting #fineart #portraiture #languedoc #vinsdulanguedoc #winewriter #winelover #winelovers #winecountry #wnetasting #winetravel #wineartist #languedocwine

Our Christmas greenery’s second act as wildlife

Our Christmas greenery’s second act as wildlife feeding station.

“Hosting a big group provides them an excuse to

“Hosting a big group provides them an excuse to gather in force, throw a party, open a slew of wines, visit, socialize, kvetch. I suspect the producers like these events even more than we do.”

A new illustration from my travels.

#wine #illustration #terrassesdularzac

https://megmaker.com/2025/02/pausing-for-a-photo-in-terrasses-du-larzac/

Self Portrait I’ve been experimenting with natu

Self Portrait

I’ve been experimenting with naturalistic portraiture, learning how to capture light, expression, and character with brushstroke. In this self portrait I’ve merged myself into another of my paintings, combining imagery to shift the mood.

Also, I’m just putting this out there: if you’d like me to paint your portrait, or a portrait of someone special to you, I’m open to commissions.

#painting #portrait #portraiture #selfportrait #fineart

Neighbor #superbowlsunday #barredowl #owl #ow

Neighbor

#superbowlsunday🦉 #barredowl #owl #owls #owlsofinstagram #🦉

I’m thrilled to have been invited to deliver a p

I’m thrilled to have been invited to deliver a paper at the inaugural Pinot Noir and Identity Symposium at Oxford University.

The Symposium, to be held July 10–12, aims to focus attention on the variety’s unique place in the world of wine by examining how its identity has been constructed over the centuries. The event is open to all wine scholars, academic and non-academic, as well as those involved in the production, promotion, and consumption of Pinot Noir wines.

My paper uses Pinot Noir as a case study to examine the shift in descriptive motifs used to make sense of this wine. It evaluates how the lexical and linguistic choices have evolved over the last few decades to keep up with Pinot Noir’s evolving significance, and considers whether these approaches differ depending on a specific wine’s territorial origins. Finally, it considers how insights from these explorations extend to other wines to offer broader implications for wine’s role in shaping cultural identity.

Join us! Registration is now open.

More information: https://www.thepinotnoirproject.org/events-2-1/event-one-bjz9y
Registration: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/pinotnoirproject/1434504

#pinotnoir #pinotnoirwine #pinotnoirproject #wineculture #winetradition #culture #materialculture #winelanguage #winelexicon #Oxford #oxforduniversity

More snaps from last week in the Langhe. #wine #b

More snaps from last week in the Langhe.

#wine #barolo #barbaresco #roero #albeisa #langhe #nebbiolo #arneis #barbera #freisa #dolcetto #winemaking #winewriting #winetravel #winemedia #presstrip #italianwine #vino #vinoitaliano

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