Sal and I watched a really good program on OPB Tuesday evening. It was Oregon Experience: The Grapes of Place, an account of the beginnings of the modern wine industry in Oregon. There were several aspects of the program we found compelling, including the fact that we once resembled the bearded, Bierkenstocked subjects in the photos of those 1970's pioneers.
I was especially taken with the concept of Terroir, from which the name of the show was derived. Terroir is a French term which pertains to the soil, but also to region. Every aspect of a place that goes into the make up of a grape - the soil, precipitation, terrain, climate - is the Terroir. No two places are the same, and the grapes reflect that reality.
Those wine-making pioneers transplanted grapevines from California and France and wound up with some really fine Pinot Noirs. As we watched the program I was overtly aware of my own status as a recent Oregon transplant, hoping that I too will flourish in this unique and beautiful environment.
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