Ep 009 What is Terroir? Part 1: It’s not just a fancy French wine term

Terroir (teh-RWAH) - It's a HUGE topic in the wine world, and not without controversy. You may have heard of this word, or may have no freaking idea what we're talking about...either way, this is a low down of what it's all about. If you're going to appreciate wine, especially French wine, you've got to know about this term and concept.

Here's the link: PODCAST or search Wine For Normal People in iTunes (and if you can rate us there we'd love it!!).

As usual, we review great emails, blog comments, and posts on the Facebook page and then we jump right into the main topic -- terroir. Here are the notes...

Main Topic - The big question...what is terroir? - A loaded question

• How to pronounce it correctly
• What does it mean (translation)?
• Its effect on wine (can you actually taste terroir?!)
• The big controversy - Is terroir a bunch of hooey?
• The origins of terroir (a bit of history)

Grape of the Week - Cabernet Sauvignon (and its differences in terroir)

• We discussed how this love child came into being and Rick asked for more info on it's parentage. I'm happy to say I got it right -- Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc had a love child spontaneously. In 1996 a UC Davis researcher found that these two grapes, native to Bordeaux, mated to create the King of the Reds!
  
• Here's a link to some more information from Kobrand, a major importer that has a good site with lots of info on grapes and wines!
  

It's a little nerdy, but we hope you like it! Please post your questions and comments!!!

AND we're not done...next week: Terroir Part 2: Its different aspects and why terroir matters. Thanks for staying tuned!