Poyama - Softcover

I share with you one of my favorite quotes:

When life actually blows up, it comes hand-in-hand with perspective.
                                                                             - John O'leary

Where a wine comes from is, of course, the most important factor in winemaking. Old world wines only state where the wine is from on their labels, nothing about the grape. While it is likely most are aware of this fact, it might be that some lack appreciation of the reasons behind it. The quality of a vineyard is bound to a complex combination of physical properties: drainage, micro-climate, chemical and mineral make up of the soil, diurnal temperature swing (high day temp for ripening and sugar build up, low night temp for acidity increase), slope location for sun control of mildew and disease . . . . This humble beginning to an extensive list will suffice, and one gets the idea.
If we can further contemplate the similarities between a cluster of grapes and a discrete cluster of atoms making up every molecule in a universe of infinite material variety, we draw nearer an appreciation of the absolute uniqueness of each vineyard. The French word for this is terroir, and the French phrase describing it is voix des pierres - voice of the stones. The French regard the winegrower as steward of the terroir.