Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
been extensively studied in the Médoc and St. Emilion regions of the Bordeaux
region. Despite its lack of scientific underpinning, the contribution of soil to
a site's
terroir
and wine “typicity” is of great interest to many winemakers who
are seeking a competitive advantage in fiercely competitive national and inter-
national wine markets. We return to this topic in chapter 6. However, in the
absence of conclusive scientific knowledge, a pragmatic approach is to think
of
terroir
as embodying an empirical but imperfect classification of soils spe-
cifically for viticulture, which has been honed by the experience of practicing
vignerons over a long time.
Soil Classification and
Terroir
Classification involves the “packaging” of soil variability so that soils with similar
values of a property such as profile form, color, and texture are grouped together
and are separated from groups of soils with dissimilar property values. To assess
the full range of soil variation in an area of interest, a survey is conducted. The
variation is divided into “classes,” which collectively comprise a classification.
Soil scientists have justified traditional classification of this kind by saying it is
valuable for communicating soil information nationally and internationally.
However, experience shows that information in this form is not widely used by
farmers, winegrowers, and land managers, in part because detailed information
about a particular location is lost in the creation of the general-purpose classes
and in part because scientists have produced several classifications that have
resulted in a confusing suite of soil names. In Australia, for example, four national
soil classifications have been used at various times over the past 60+ years, culmi-
nating in the Australian Soil Classification (Isbell, 1996). Following its revision
(Isbell, 2002), the system has been more widely accepted as a truly national clas-
sification and its soil orders, representing the highest categorical level, correlated
with putative international classifications, such as Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey
Staff, 1999). However, the older Great Soil Group Classification still retains cur-
rency in the viticulture industry, and its Great Group names are used when nec-
essary in this topic.
Recognition of
terroir
in Old World vineyards, especially in Burgundy and
other historically important regions of France, relies on an accumulated knowl-
edge of soil properties relevant to vine performance and fruit quality on a scale
of meters rather than kilometers. In Australia, where the wine industry is much
younger than in France, the need to provide relevant soil data for grapevine cul-
ture led to the creation of a special-purpose classification, which as far as possible
uses nontechnical terms to describe soil properties observable in the vineyard
(Maschmedt et al., 2002). Soil survey is the process by which such information
is gathered.
