TEACHING TERROIR OF WINES IN GEOLOGY CLASSES

Terroir is the French term that means the relationship between geology, soils, climate and wine. We can easily use this term in a brief discussion on local wines in our classes to discuss mineralogy, bedrock, and soils. The interest in wine has taken off all over the world in the past 30 years. Students are interested in applying their geological knowledge to comparing different types of wines. In introductory geology classes, spend a little time on the terroir of the wines found in your state. Every state in the United States has a winery. Every state has a terroir story for each of its AVA’s. Most states are divided into different AVA’s (American Viticultural Areas) which are defined by their terrroirs. I will use the case of the Willamette Valley in Oregon to show differences in terroir. The three main soils that produce different pinot noir wines (even from the same wine maker in the same year) are the Jory Soil (Ultisol soils developed on weathered Miocene basalt), Willakenzie Soil (Alfisol soils formed in uplifted marine sediments of mainly shales and sandstones), and Laurelwood Soil (Alfisols developed in weathered loess on top of Miocene basalts). We can talk to the students about different rock types and ages of the soils which can be interesting and fun!