Practical Applications: Tasting Terroir

Comparative Tasting Exercise

To understand terroir, taste wines from the same grape but different places:

Budget Option (under €15 each): - Sancerre (Loire Sauvignon Blanc): mineral, citrus - Bordeaux Blanc (Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc): rounder, often blended - Languedoc Sauvignon Blanc: riper, more tropical

Splurge Option (€30-50 each): - Chablis Premier Cru: pure Chardonnay, steel and stone - Meursault: same grape, 30 miles south, butter and hazelnuts - Chassagne-Montrachet: more power and concentration

Finding Your Terroir Preferences

Questions to ask yourself: 1. Do I prefer power or elegance? 2. Fresh fruit or developed, earthy flavors? 3. Single variety purity or blended complexity? 4. Traditional styles or modern interpretations?

Your answers help navigate French wine. Love fresh, mineral whites? Explore Loire and Chablis. Prefer rich, warming reds? Southern Rhône and Languedoc await.