Explanation of "Terroir"
The French approach to food, and in particular to wine, cannot be understood without first having an understanding of "terroir". Many elements of French food/wine culture are well known: the love of dining, the appreciation of local farmer's markets, the importance of the freshest ingredients. The item which is often spoken of by the French, but seldom explained or understood by non-French, is terroir. This is not from any desire to be secretive, rather it is because terroir is such an integral and implicit part of the French culture that it can be difficult for many French people to put it into words.
A dictionary will simply translate the word "terroir" as "land". What is not as well know is the set of ideas and beliefs associated with this word, or what is meant when the French speak of the terroir of a wine, or food or even a recipe. In fact, although terroir is most commonly associated with wine and food, it can be associated with anything, even traditional clothing or furniture.
Following are the central ideas behind terroir. Whether these ideas are right or wrong is a topic open to discussion. However, if one is to appreciate the French culture (in particular for wine and food), it is first necessary to understand the French cultural beliefs, as follows:
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Each area has unique characteristics (e.g. soil composition, geography, climate) which exist in combinations found only in that area. These can be be physical characteristics (such as soil acidity and mineral content), but may also be traditions (e.g. the tradition of producing a particular cheese in a particular way).
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As each area has unique characteristics, the products traditionally produced in a given area are unique to that area. For example, champagne can only be produced in the Champagne region of France. One can make a sparkling wine somewhere else but the wine would not be Champagne, even if the identical types of grapes and the identical method of production were used. This is because each region is unique, thereby giving unique characteristics to items produced there.
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This uniqueness is central to the quality and enjoyment of food and wine, as well as French traditions. It should be protected and preserved.
Preserving Terroir
It is true that local climate and soil conditions do affect the test of food. For example, grapes grown in an area with a high level of flint will give a slightly flinty taste to the resulting wine. In other countries, such flinty wine would be blended with other wines or produced in a way to remove this flinty taste, which might be distasteful to consumers. To the French this is incorrect; the flinty taste should be preserved so that the wine reflects its source of production. It is a great compliment in France to say that a wine has terroir, which is to say that one can tell from its taste where it was produced.
This cultural belief is reinforced by laws and regulations. Most famously, it is illegal to produce the wine champagne outside the region Champagne. Furthermore, the main quality standard in France is the AOC (Appelation d’Origine Contrôlée), which is only granted to products which have a specific area of production. Products which can be produced anywhere do not qualify for this standard, which is to say that products which do not have terroir do not qualify for France's main quality standard. It can be argued that these laws and quality standards are designed to preserve a monopoly on production; while there is some truth in this, the cultural role of terroir in their development and support cannot be denied.
To many people, this approach may seem illogical or extreme. They would argue that production should not be restricted to traditional areas and traditional methods. However, there is a strong argument in its favour: it works. The traditions of terroir, backed by government and legal support, have helped to preserve the high quality and diversity of French food, cheese and wine.
In other parts of the world, food and wine have lost their individuality and taste. Market research has been used to find the most popular tastes, and then the production process is adjusted to produce this. For example, white wine production in most countries has switched from a diversity of grapes and wine styles to standardising on the Chardonnay grape and a uniform wine taste. One can pick up a dozen medium-priced wines in such countries and they all taste the same. Not so in France, where tradition and AOC regulations have preserved diversity in wine by insisting on: traditional grape varieties and local production, traditional production methods, preservation of local flavours.
Likewise, In many countries food has become a mass-produced commodity, where quality is often sacrificed to producing the lowest-cost standard product. In France this is strongly resisted; food is not supposed to be standard but rather to vary regionally. The concept of mass production for national and international consumption, while accepted for some items (e.g. maize) is resisted for most food items. Foods are produced regionally with protection of both small producers and traditional methods. In practice, this protection has preserved not only diversity but also quality.
Click on French Food Culture for a general discussion of French food culture. |
