terroir means the complete set of local conditions in which a particular wine or family of wines is produced, including soil type, weather conditions, topography, and wine-making savoir-faire. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 70 out of 100.
Why this word is great
TERROIR — [Noun] The complete set of local environmental factors, including soil, climate, and topography, that give a wine or agricultural product its distinctive character. A borrowing from French terroir, from Old French, meaning "land, soil," ultimately from Latin terra ("earth, land"). Unlike "territory," which implies a bounded dominion, or "origin," which names a source but not its spirit, terroir is the alchemy of locale into flavor. It is the gritty, mineral tang of slate in a Riesling, the ghost of rosemary in lamb from a sun-baked hillside, and the haunting smokiness of coffee grown in volcanic ash—a testament that the most profound truths are not invented, but quietly excavated from the earth.
noun
- The complete set of local conditions in which a particular wine or family of wines is produced, including soil type, weather conditions, topography, and wine-making savoir-faire.“The concept of terroir summarises in a synthetic, effective way the genetic-environmental and human conditions that constitute the foundation for the production of a wine that can convey the above characteristics of naturalness and genuineness (Fig 1.1).”