Wine on the Rocks

                                         Rocks can be instrumental in making a complex wine

This is not an article for novices on wine coolers or putting ice in your wine.  It is an article for serious wine lovers on the important role that rocks can have in a vineyard.  Rocks can be instrumental in the difference between a ho-hum wine, and some of the best wines on the planet.   Perhaps the most famous wine rocks are those of Bordeaux and the Rhone (especially Chateauneuf du Pape).   But, many other world-class wines owe part of their greatness to rocks.

                                     Galets can vary from pebble-sized to larger rocks

The French actually have a specific term for these vineyard rocks. They are called “galets.”   Galets can vary anywhere in size from several pounds to large pebbles.  Regardless of size, however, rocks are integral to the growth of vines and their fruit in several ways.  Rocks absorb heat from the daytime sunshine and then slowly release the heat back during the night.  During cold winters this is important so that vines don’t freeze.  During cool summer evenings, on the other hand, heat retention and heat transmission are critical for vine’s growth and fruit ripening.

 

Rocks can also be critical for drainage.  Vines need proper drainage in order to produce quality fruit.   Layers of pebbles or even smaller sized rocks can create a perfect drainage system and allow the vine to send its roots downward to seek water and nutrition for the plant.   In this search downward through the vineyard’s stratum, the plant also brings back nuances from the earth that create complexity in wine.

  

                                                   "Graves" is all about it's "gravel" soil

Rocks are an important part of the vineyard’s terroir.  In the case of Bordeaux’s left bank and Chateauneuf du Pape, both of these wine districts lie beside large rivers.  In Bordeaux, millenniums of granite from the Pyrenees have been washed downward and were deposited in vineyards when rivers overflowed their banks.  Graves, one of Bordeaux’s premium districts, actually takes its name from the word for “gravel.”  Graves' vineyards are littered with rocks that have been broken down by the water's churning action as the rivers carry rocks toward the Atlantic.      

     This Chateauneuf du Pape vineyard is located a croissant's toss from the Rhone River

The Rhone wine region lies beside the Rhone River.  Alpine rocks have been washed down via the Rhone for ages.  Chateauneuf du Pape is the flattest part of the region, hence, its vineyards are laden with galets from the Rhone’s flooding.   On the other side of the world in New Zealand, there’s the Gimblett Gravels wine district, an area known for its world-class red wines.  The Gimlett Gravels are located in an old river bed filled with rocks.  In this case, the river actually changed course and left in its wake a perfect terroir for growing wine grapes:  several feet of deep gravels.   

If you're looking for a novel idea for a wine-tasting, why not consider a "Wine on the Rocks" soiree?