wine

Mick O’Connell: The intriguing mix of people and place that is a wine’s terroir

The idea of terroir is that a wine is deeply connected to the environment, but its full mysteries have yet to be unlocked

“The influence of the human hand is of huge importance in translating this sense of place into our glass”. Picture: Bloomberg

I once had a vineyard on my balcony in north London. I say vineyard, when I actually mean three vines - one chardonnay and two pinot noir, ready for copycat Champagne production as soon as their bounty came to fruition.

All three were planted in old wooden wine boxes. At the time I was studying and regularly visiting proper vineyards. I came back from every trip with a single stone from where I had visited: ...