Winemakers believe that the land speaks to them of possibilities. A winemaker’s goal is to express those possibilities, to capture the best of what that land has to offer. Historically, success was perceived to be a matter of givens: a great site, a great year, or a great wine. Today it is possible (or we’ve fooled ourselves into believing it’s possible) to take considerably more control of the outcome in both the vineyard and the winery.

In France, people speak about terroir when referring to great wines. That word, however, has no literal English translation. In the U.S., most people use the term interchangeably with “ground,” meaning the location where the vineyard is planted. When one thinks of the things that make up terroir, one realizes that it is not exclusively about the land. It is, indeed, a concept embracing the site—the location where the vineyard is planted—and all of the criteria that come with that location, including the soil, the slope, the exposure, the climate (macro-, meso-, and micro-). The idea of terroir, however, is much more than that. It focuses also on the human factors associated with the site, and the rearing of the grapes, and the making of the wine. Some one person or some team of people make important decisions, including those about where to plant—that is, in what soil type(s), how steep, how rocky. At Harlan Estate, for example, the soils are of two distinct types. The hills on the east side are volcanic in nature. The slopes on the west are sedimentary. Those conditions factor into all of the decisions about which grapes to plant, how to plant them, and so on. In addition, the distinct soil types are part of the character of this land and thus part of what we want the fruit to reflect. Those differences, we feel, add great complexity to the wine.

The human factors regarding vinification decisions play an equally important role. What is the right quantity of fruit to have on each vine? When is the best time to harvest the grapes? What is the best temperature to ferment for that particular lot of grapes? How long should the wine rest in tanks in contact with the grape skins? How long should the wine age in barrels? A wine grower’s goal is to allow the wine to become an expression of where those grapes are grown. That expression, however, is one that is guided through the eyes of the team making the decisions along the way. There is no formula for success, and there is no definitive “right way.” It is all a matter of interpretation based on a combination of science, art, and experience. The expression of the wine then becomes an expression of the terroir, which encompasses the site as well as the decisions made by those interpreting it.