Elsewhere I made a clumsy attempt at answering a question I have. The main reason for the clumsiness was usage of the “T word” which I will try and avoid here.
I am primarily interested in any recent scientific advances in the question of soil element uptake through vines. We all, casually or not, use descriptors such as “minerally” or “chalky” when referring to wine scents or flavors. Existing science maintains that “The tiny amounts of mineral nutrients (metallic ions such as potassium or calcium) present in wine are far below sensory thresholds and cannot account for “mineral” taste in a literal sense.” This mostly the result of studies conducted by a Professor Maltman. Among numerous online sources.
Related topics include the role of petrichor and mycorrhizal ecology, ambient volatile oils and such. I have found stuff such as…
This one was waaaay over my head but looks interesting.
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So, getting down to the nitty-gritty, I am just trying to stay current with the science of how humans perceive environmental factors and end up using common words to describe wine. If there’s anything to add to the topics listed above and linked it would be cool to know. I like having concrete sources to point to when discussing wine with folks who are misled to believe that, for example, a vine in limestone based soil uptakes that element and produces limestone scents and flavors in a finished wine. If there’s nothing new in the scientific world then that’s awesome but you don’t know unless you ask. If the framing of this is clumsy or wrongheaded apologies in advance.
Lets say i taste wet rock slab, or at least my mind alludes me to think I do. Calling the wine “mineral” is just a way of defining the taste. It is however definitely wrongly used when people mistakenly refer to a wine as mineral due to its terroir, eg. kimmeridgian soil in chablis.
I have had recent conversations with a couple of people who are conducting academic research in this topic. As a former geologist who now works in wine research, it’s something I find interesting. Unfortunately, I don’t think that the current efforts I have seen are particularly well-informed or good-faith attempts to increase our collective understanding of what a “sense of place” might taste like.
Hey Ben, thank you for chiming in. If you do see anything worth note please do post it. I really think understanding wine is a fluid combination of human experience and hard science. Even if the latter prevails that should not diminish the romance of interacting with wine.
I don’t think we’re in any danger of the latter prevailing. I think the far greater danger is that our opinions and ideas about wine become shaped by not particularly good science, such that people make sciencey-sounding claims to support their existing biases - or propagate new mythologies - and obscure any more nuanced understanding based on good observation. I’d much rather just have the romance than that.