Want Some Ice in That?
In wine making, terroir is mystically important. It refers to a combination of the soil in which the grapes are grown, the vineyard’s microclimate, altitude, angle of inclination and exposure to the sun, as well as the people who tend the grapes and transform them into wine - but mostly soil. In France, terroir is all and nobody understood that better than Mme Anne-Claude Leflaive. Prior to her death in 2015, she led Domaine Leflaive, one of Burgundy’s most prestigious estates, one founded by her grandfather, Joseph, in 1910. In 2006, she was named the world’s best wine maker by Decanter magazine, but Anne-Claude largely left the winemaking to others because her overriding interest was the terroir, a matter she approached with scientific zeal. I have a personal reason for mentioning her.