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Geology and Wine

Côtes du Roussillon vines growing in poor soils on Pleistocene river gravels, France. Image: Roger Suthren

Whilst you're waiting for this web page to be completed, here are some refreshing links on geology, soils and wine, as well as some informative sites on wine in general:

• The Terroir concept - Terry Wright
• Understanding the Mysteries of the Grape (Geotimes article by Larry Meinert)
  
• Terroir, Geology and Wine - A Tribute to Simon J. Haynes - papers from the 2003 GSA meeting
• The book published after this meeting: Fine Wine and Terroir - The Geoscience Perspective
  
• Terroir: The Role of Geology, Climate, and Culture in the Making of French Wines (book reviews) (amazon.com) (amazon.co.uk)
• Terroir 06 (Geology and Wine Conference)
• Wine Education site
• Berry Bros and Rudd - useful information on grapes, wine region maps etc.
• Jancis Robinson.com Many interesting articles - use the Search. Some are available only by subscription.

Wines from volcanoes

• Vesuvius
• Etna
• Mount Hood
• Mount Shasta
• Santorini, Greece

Geological wines

• Cinnabar (California)
• Olivin (Austria)

U.S.A.

• Terroirs in Sonoma County, California
• Napa Valley, California Geology & Wine
• A day of Total Terroir - Napa Valley
• Relationship of geology to wine in southeastern Washington state
• Cadence Vineyard, WA
• Oregon and its Wines
• Geology of Vineyards in the Willamette Valley, OR
• Dundee Hills, OR soils

France

• Map of wine regions of France
• Classification of French wines
• Terroir-France - French wine guide
• Regional wine guides
• Vins de Pays
• La Vigne et le Vin (in French). A lot of information on wine regions and grape varieties
  • Major grape varieties (in French)
  • Minor grape varieties (in French)
    
    

Beaujolais

• Les Roches Bleues
  
  

Bordelais (Bordeaux region)

• Bordeaux regional guide
• Bordeaux vineyards
• Chateau Figeac, St Emilion, Bordeaux
  
  

Bourgogne (Burgundy)

• Burgundy vineyards
  
  

Languedoc-Roussillon

• Languedoc-Roussillon Wine Guide
• Languedoc appellations map
• Languedoc AOC Wines
• The Languedoc-Roussillon - magazine article
• Languedoc (article by Jancis Robinson)
• St Chinian
• Corbières
  • Vignerons de Camplong
• Minervois
• Faugères (in French)
  • Terre de Schistes (beware: the French word schistes translates as shales)
• Maury - sweet wines
• Côtes de Roussillon
• Rivesaltes - sweet wines
• Roussillon (article by Jancis Robinson)
• Vins de Pays (in French - lots of facts and figures
• Article on Languedoc-Roussillon Geology and Wine

 

Rhône Valley

• rhone.75cl.com (in French)
• Costières de Nîmes (in French - geological cross section)

U.K.

• English Wine

South Africa

• South Africa

Further Reading

ANGLADE, P. 1990. Larousse Wines and Vineyards of France. Ebury Press, London. A comprehensive encyclopaedia of the grapes, wines and vineyards of France, including some information on geology and soils.

POMEROL, C. (ed.). 1989. The Wines and Winelands of France. Geological Journeys. Robertson McCarta, London. Guided itineraries to the main vineyard areas, linked to the Guides Géologiques Régionaux 'red guides' published by Masson.

WILSON, J.E. 1998. Terroir. The Role of Geology, Climate and Culture in the Making of French Wines. Well illustrated and interesting account of the influence of geology on winemaking, written by a petroleum geologist. Somewhat marred by frequent geological and geographical errors in the Languedoc chapter.

SUTHREN, R.J., FOWLER, M.B. & GUION, P.D. 2006. Terroir, wine and geoscience fieldwork education in Languedoc-Roussillon, southern France. In Macqueen, R.W. and Meinert, L.D. (eds.): Fine Wine and Terroir, The Geoscience Perspective. Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 9, 233-246.

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