Unit 21 of 26 · Online wine course

Terroir and Vintages Course

Why place and year matter. 4 lessons · about 32 min

Start with the free unit See prices

This unit is included with Premium ($3.99 a month, 3 days free) or the course for life ($39.99 once).

The 4 lessons

  1. What terroir really means, and how to taste it

    Terroir put to the test: how soil really works through water, why 'mineral' is not the taste of rock, and how to taste a place side by side.

    You will be able to:

    • explain how soil shapes wine through water
    • explain why minerality is not the taste of rock
    • set up a side-by-side tasting that shows terroir
    about 8 min

  2. Cool climate vs warm climate: how warmth shapes wine

    Why the warmth of a region sets its wine's style: the vine belt, life at the cool edge, the fixes growers and winemakers use, and a wine map on the move.

    You will be able to:

    • explain how a region's climate shapes its wine
    • place cool-edge and hot regions on a climate scale
    • read a label's alcohol figure as a climate clue
    about 8 min

  3. Why the vintage year matters, and when it doesn't

    Each year's weather is written into the wine. Learn where the year matters most, how to read a vintage chart and how to buy in a weak year.

    You will be able to:

    • explain how one year's weather changes a wine
    • read a vintage chart and use it wisely
    • spot where the vintage matters most, and least
    about 8 min

  4. Organic, biodynamic, natural, sustainable: what they promise

    Four label words describe how a wine is grown or made, not how good it tastes: what organic, biodynamic, natural and sustainable really promise.

    You will be able to:

    • explain what organic, biodynamic, natural and sustainable promise
    • read organic wine labels from the EU and US
    • tell a farming word from a cellar word
    about 8 min

Related reading on Winelingo: Where wine comes from