On Food and Cooking

Ives), midwestern Vitis aestivalis (Norton,
Cynthiana), southeastern Vitis rotundifolia
(floral-citrus Scuppernong), and on
complex parentage (Chambourcin,
developed in the Loire region of France).
Terroir In recent times, much has been said
and written about the importance in
winemaking of terroir: the influence on a
wine of the particular place in which the
grapes were grown. The French word includes
the entire physical environment of the
vineyard: the soil, its structure and mineral
content; the water held in the soil; the
vineyard’s elevation, slope, and orientation;
and the microclimate, the regime of
temperature, sunlight, humidity, and rainfall.
Each of these aspects can vary over small
distances, from one vineyard to the next; and
each can affect the growth of the vine and the
development of its fruit, sometimes in
indirect ways. For example, sloping ground
and certain kinds of soil encourage water to