THE SOIL AND THE VINEYARD
Looking out on the tidy rows of vines, all we can really see are the branches and leaves growing towards the sky and the trunk and bark closer to the earth. However, much of the plant’s vital existence is underground. Far from being just a simple, inanimate support, the earth, in the composition of its soil, the quality of its minerals, its capacity to heat and cool itself, and in its wealth of microorganisms, defines the place where the vine sinks its roots, often meters deep, and greatly determines its characteristics. In soils with different components, the vine will react, agronomically and organoleptically, in different ways.
GEOLOGY
The land also tells a tale of the origins and the formation of the place we live in, a tale that plays a crucial role in giving the grape its uniqueness. The geology of an area not only explains the components of the soil, the quantity of sand, lime, clay, iron or calcium, but also its orography and layout, the way the hills are formed and positioned. For example, in the Langhe, where today there are vineyards there was once a sea.