Geography plays a very important role during the wine making process. Every detail of the vineyard can contribute to incredibly complex wines. There are thousands of factors that can effect the grapes grown in a vineyard. For single vineyard wines (meaning the grapes used to make a bottle of wine all came from a single vineyard), you can literally taste the unique elements of that vineyard in comparison to others. The French have a word for this, they call it: "terrior" The idea is quite simple. Everything from the amount of sunlight, water quality, soil types, climate variations, and physical vineyard aspects all contribute to the style of wine which can not be reproduced anywhere but that region. Because of these factors, each grape varietal can either perform exquisitely producing quality grape clusters or fail miserably. Nebiollo grapes are by far the best example - there are few places this finicky little grape enjoys to grow whereas Chardonnay and Cabernet will grow almost anywhere! Next time you're wine tasting, take note of the region or vineyard the wine came from. If you enjoy it, try another from the same region - not only will you get to enjoy another winemaker's style but you'll be able to purchase your next bottle with some confidence knowing the grapes origin.

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