Dirt Doesn’t Lie: What Soil Really Tells Us
I used to gloss over soil types in wine books. Chalk, clay, loam—it would all start to run together. I could memorize the terms for an exam, but I couldn’t feel it. Then one day I stood in a vineyard and picked up a chunk of red clay. I finally understood: this isn’t just dirt. It’s story. It’s structure. It’s identity.
Now, when I talk about a wine’s origin, I try to think from the ground up.
What Soil Means in Wine (and What It Doesn’t)
Let me be clear: soil doesn’t literally flavor the wine. You won’t taste limestone the way you taste lemon. What the soil does do, profoundly, is affect how the vine grows. It affects how deep roots go; how much water it holds; how much stress it endures and how the grapes ripen.
In other words, soil shapes balance and balance is the foundation of everything else we care about.
A Few Soils I Think About Often
Limestone
Holds water but drains well. Often associated with freshness, tension, longevity.
Think: Champagne, Burgundy, parts of Rioja.
Granite
Warm, reflective, poor in nutrients—great for grapes that thrive on stress.
Think: Beaujolais and parts of the Northern Rhône, wines with crunch and lift.
Slate & Schist
Dark, heat-retaining soils making for razor-sharp acidity.
Think: Mosel, Douro
Clay
Dense, moisture-retaining, and slow to warm. Often connected to boldness and power, wines with muscle, if you will.
Think: Right Bank Bordeaux
Does It Matter to the Average Drinker?
Not always. But when a wine strikes me I find that there’s often a reason buried in the ground. Not as a flex, but as a way of seeing. The soil is just one layer in a wine’s expression, but sometimes, it’s the quiet one holding everything else together.
Studying Soil for WSET (Without Losing the Plot)
For anyone prepping for D1 or D3: yes, you need to know your soil types. But more importantly, start connecting them to places and styles. Ask: Why does Tempranillo do well here? Why is Pinot Noir planted there, not just historically, but geologically? That’s where the memorization stops and the understanding begins.
