Posted on 1 Comment

The Terroir of Wine and Wheat

The Romanée-Conti vineyard, Burgundy, France – vines as far as the eye can see!

When Jennifer and I spent time in the Burgundy region of France, we had the great pleasure of visiting the vineyards of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, near the town of Nuits-Saint-Georges.

Neither of has tasted this fabled Pinot Noir, nor are we likely to in our lives. But in our naïveté, we thought it would be fun to buy a bottle for Jen’s Dad, a wine connoisseur, as a gift. It was a superb idea, we thought until we learned the price. The 2006 vintage, the year we were there, now goes for upwards of $16,000 for a 750ml bottle!

The wine’s price tag has much to do with supply and demand, as it produces a minimal number of cases annually. The entire Domaine de la Romanée-Conti consists of 28 hectares. Within that area, there are 11 grands crus or vintners. La Romanée Conti, the most famous, is 1.8 hectares or about three acres.

It’s also considered one of the best wines, thanks to the perfect ecosystem for growing grapes. The drainage, the quality, and depth of the soil, minerality, the sun exposure, the microbiology all play a role.

The perfect ecosystem

Not much happens in the cellar, according to our tour guide. The perfection is in the grapes themselves.

Even in this small area, however, some land packages are better than others, depending on their locations. Grapes from one vineyard may produce a glass of far better wine than another across the narrow road, or on a higher part of the slope.

This is terroir, the peculiar conditions in which wine grapes — or any agricultural product — thrive and mature. The wine tastes of the vine. The grape tastes of its terroir.

So the tour guide says. I’m no wine expert, but I appreciate the concept, especially as it relates to wheat as used in bread.

Terroir  and Dirt

I recently came across another story of terroir in a new book, Dirt, Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking by a former editor of the New Yorker, Bill Buford.

What an excellent read! Full of great stories from the restaurant kitchens of Lyon, the culinary capital of France, and a broad investigation into why French cooking is the way it is.

Buford gave up a respectable gig as a literary editor in New York to learn about the Lyon culinary tradition, home of many of the country’s most celebrated chefs (including the legendary Paul Bocuse). He starts at the bottom and works his way up the ladder, surviving the endless hours, learning the demanding rigueur of the kitchen. He tolerates all verbal hazing (Putain de merde!) and cruel tricks that a novice cook endures.

What he initially imagined as a few months in France turns in to five years. His twin toddler sons enter a Lyon school, learn to speak better French than their native English. His wife, Jessica Green, also a writer, earns her certification to be a wine educator.

A baker named Bob

Buford’s success in the kitchens has as much to do with the skills he learns as his savoir-faire and his studiousness. His first stint is in the Boulangerie Phillipe Richard, a bread and pastry shop near the apartment he rents with his family. The baker is known to Buford and everyone in his Lyon quartier as Bob. I mentioned Bob in an April post of the Happy Monk blog when an excerpt from Buford’s Dirt ran in The New Yorker.

(Here is a video of Bill Buford profiling Bob the baker in his Lyon bakery0

It wasn’t so much Bob’s technique that made his baguettes so revered in the city. It was his flour that came from the Auvergne region, about 170km due west of Lyon. Buford detects the flour’s unique aroma, its taste. Even his twin boys know the flavour of Bob’s flour.

A visit with a miller

Buford visits a miller near the area where Bob’s flour comes from. He eats a roll made with the flour, closes his eyes, and tastes Bob’s bread.

“You recognize it,” the miller says. “It comes from wheat that is a living plant, not an industrial starch.”

“Where do you get it?” Buford asks.

“Small farms. Nothing more than 40 hectares (a hundred acres).”

Buford asks where the farms are located. He had not noticed wheat farms in his travels in the region.

The terroir of wheat

“Here in Savoie,” says the miller. “And the Rhone Valley. They grow an old wheat, a quality wheat. And the Auvergne. I love the wheat from the Auvergne. Everyone does. The volcanic soil, the iron-rich dirt. You can taste it in the bread.”

What do small farms have that the big ones don’t? Buford asks.

Small farms are the only ones with soil that hasn’t been “ruined” with chemical fertilizers and wheat varieties that produce massive yields.

Goût

“The bread that you make from [this mass-produced wheat] has the texture and smell of bread, but it doesn’t have the goût [the taste].”

The exchange between Buford and his miller friend is a description of the terroir of wheat. The unique growing conditions of farms that recognize the peculiarities of the soil, topography, the weather. The farmers that exploit these factors build on them and produce wheat that reflects the terroir in the goût.

Those who visit France and marvel at its food understand this. Baguettes can taste ordinary there, but they can also be transcendent, as Jennifer and I experienced during our visits.

Coming to a farm near you

Many in North America are beginning to understand this. They are setting up small organic farms that grow grains and legumes with superior flavour. Ingredients that reflect the terroir they come from.

Happy Monk bread is made from organic flour grown in the Okanagan region of British Columbia. The grains produced by these artisan farms are pooled by a company called Fieldstone Organics, which cleans and processes the grain. It is then sold to small stone milling operations, such as Nootka Rose Milling in Metchosin, B.C., where all Happy Monk grain and flour comes from.

And you can taste the difference! It was a revelation to me to find that flour actually has flavour. The grassy taste of organic spelt, the tannin of Red Fife wheat! Here, we’re beginning to understand the benefits of small-scale farming, that it can co-exist with larger operations, and offer more flavour and sustainable farming practices for those who want it. Those who need it!

Good food tastes of itself

Buford sums up his quest for good food:

We learned the taste of good food. For thousands of years, the food has comes from a place, from a soil, that is a testament to its ancient history. Good food tastes of itself.

I had gone to France to learn basics. The basics of kitchen. The basics of place, and what grows here and what doesn’t grow there. I wanted to get as close to my sources as possible, where the words come from, how we arrive at flavour. I wanted to re-examine my assumptions … to get as elemental and as primary as possible. Heat. Water. Labour. Place. And its dirt.”

I’d like to hope we’re doing the same here. It’s what interests me with the bread we make at the Happy Monk Baking Company. People are interested in good food that tastes of itself.


HAPPY MONK BLOG: An Approachable Manifesto: A loaf designed for the grocery shelf, but with honest-to-goodness artisan credentials. (May 24, 2023) [ See LinkTree in Proifile ]

HAPPY MONK BLOG: An Approachable Manifesto: A loaf designed for the grocery shelf, but with honest-to-goodness artisan credentials. (May 24, 2023) [ See LinkTree in Proifile ] ...

23 0
Morning coffee ritual, Saturday morning. Drinking Moving Coffee, eating Happy Monk Sprouted Einkorn Sourdough bread, and spending a lot of time setting up this photo. Thanks for the coffee tip, @jomosenpai, it’s really good!
.
.
.
#coffeelover #coffee #pourovercoffee #pourover #coffeetime #coffeelover  #coffeecoffeecoffee #ceramiccoffeecup #ceramiccoffeemug #coffeeaddict #einkornsourdough #einkornbread #einkornsourdoughbread #einkornbaking

Morning coffee ritual, Saturday morning. Drinking Moving Coffee, eating Happy Monk Sprouted Einkorn Sourdough bread, and spending a lot of time setting up this photo. Thanks for the coffee tip, @jomosenpai, it’s really good!
.
.
.
#coffeelover #coffee #pourovercoffee #pourover #coffeetime #coffeelover #coffeecoffeecoffee #ceramiccoffeecup #ceramiccoffeemug #coffeeaddict #einkornsourdough #einkornbread #einkornsourdoughbread #einkornbaking
...

49 3
It’s been a long time since I baked with Einkorn flour, the most ancient of the ancient grains. It’s called “Farro Piccolo” in Italian, or ‘little farro’. A later variety of Einkorn is called “Farro Grande” (large farro)… otherwise known as Spelt. (Einkorn left, Spelt right) Here endeth the lesson. 
.
.
.
.
#einkorn #einkorngrain #einkornbread #einkornbaking #tasteofeinkorn #spelt #speltgrain #speltflour #ancientgrain #ancientgrains #ancientgrainbaking #ancientgrainflours

It’s been a long time since I baked with Einkorn flour, the most ancient of the ancient grains. It’s called “Farro Piccolo” in Italian, or ‘little farro’. A later variety of Einkorn is called “Farro Grande” (large farro)… otherwise known as Spelt. (Einkorn left, Spelt right) Here endeth the lesson.

.

.

.

.

#einkorn #einkorngrain #einkornbread #einkornbaking #tasteofeinkorn #spelt #speltgrain #speltflour #ancientgrain #ancientgrains #ancientgrainbaking #ancientgrainflours
...

38 4
Happy Monk Tidings - April 26, 2023 🍞: Baker's Choice: Polenta-Rosemary Sourdough; Blog: A Baker's Summit in the Loire Valley - [See LinkTree in Bio ]

Happy Monk Tidings - April 26, 2023 🍞: Baker`s Choice: Polenta-Rosemary Sourdough; Blog: A Baker`s Summit in the Loire Valley - [See LinkTree in Bio ] ...

27 0
Latest Happy Monk Blog: Bread from the ashes of Pompeii - April 19, 2023 🍞 [ See LinkTree in Profile ]

Latest Happy Monk Blog: Bread from the ashes of Pompeii - April 19, 2023 🍞 [ See LinkTree in Profile ] ...

26 2
Happy Monk Tidings - April 5, 2023 🍞 - BAKER'S CHOICE: Hot Cross Buns; BLOG: Falling in Love With Bread; ANNOUNCEMENT: Next Week Bread Day is on Wednesday, April 12; ALSO: Come see the Happy Monk Bread Oven this coming Sunday, April 9; [ See LinkTree in Profile ]

Happy Monk Tidings - April 5, 2023 🍞 - BAKER`S CHOICE: Hot Cross Buns; BLOG: Falling in Love With Bread; ANNOUNCEMENT: Next Week Bread Day is on Wednesday, April 12; ALSO: Come see the Happy Monk Bread Oven this coming Sunday, April 9; [ See LinkTree in Profile ] ...

36 0
Happy Monk Tidings - March 29, 2023 🍞 - BAKERS CHOICE: Whole Spelt and Maple Pan Loaf; BLOG: Spring: Two Ways of Seeing - [ See LinkTree in Profile ]

Happy Monk Tidings - March 29, 2023 🍞 - BAKERS CHOICE: Whole Spelt and Maple Pan Loaf; BLOG: Spring: Two Ways of Seeing - [ See LinkTree in Profile ] ...

14 0
Happy Monk Tidings - March 22, 2023 🍞 - BAKER'S CHOICE: Birdseed Bread; BLOG: Couldn't We Enjoy Winter a Little Longer? EXTRA: "Haulout" A film about walruses on brink. [ See LinkTree in Profile ]

Happy Monk Tidings - March 22, 2023 🍞 - BAKER`S CHOICE: Birdseed Bread; BLOG: Couldn`t We Enjoy Winter a Little Longer? EXTRA: "Haulout" A film about walruses on brink. [ See LinkTree in Profile ] ...

28 0
Happy Monk Tidings - March 15, 2023 🍞 - Greetings! This week's BAKER'S CHOICE: Anadama Bread; BLOG: The Enduring Promise of Bread Machines ~ [ See LinkTree in Profile ]

Happy Monk Tidings - March 15, 2023 🍞 - Greetings! This week`s BAKER`S CHOICE: Anadama Bread; BLOG: The Enduring Promise of Bread Machines ~ [ See LinkTree in Profile ] ...

34 0
Happy Monk Tidings - March 8, 2023 🍞 - BLOG: The Scent of Wood; BAKER'S CHOICE: Honey and Oat Porridge - [See LinkTree in Profile ]

Happy Monk Tidings - March 8, 2023 🍞 - BLOG: The Scent of Wood; BAKER`S CHOICE: Honey and Oat Porridge - [See LinkTree in Profile ] ...

35 1
Happy Monk Tidings - February 22, 2023 🍞 - BAKER'S CHOICE: Sprouted Rye and Seed Bread; BLOG: The Shipping Forecast on BBC 4; SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: No bread next week! https://mailchi.mp/4ea4d30316bb/happy_monk_tidings_feb22_2023

Happy Monk Tidings - February 22, 2023 🍞 - BAKER`S CHOICE: Sprouted Rye and Seed Bread; BLOG: The Shipping Forecast on BBC 4; SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: No bread next week! https://mailchi.mp/4ea4d30316bb/happy_monk_tidings_feb22_2023 ...

22 0
Happy Monk Tidings - February 15, 2023 🍞 - BAKER'S CHOICE: Cinnamon-Raisin Sourdough; BLOG: The Magic of the Grouse; VIDEO: How Bread Was Made in 1962; FINAL REMINDER: New Delivery Times/Prices - [Campaign URL]

Happy Monk Tidings - February 15, 2023 🍞 - BAKER`S CHOICE: Cinnamon-Raisin Sourdough; BLOG: The Magic of the Grouse; VIDEO: How Bread Was Made in 1962; FINAL REMINDER: New Delivery Times/Prices - [Campaign URL] ...

33 0
Luminous bannetons.
.
.
#woodfired #woodfiredoven  #woodfiredbaking #woodfiredbakery #woodfiredbread #earthoven #earthenoven #bannetons #banneton

Luminous bannetons.
.
.
#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredbaking #woodfiredbakery #woodfiredbread #earthoven #earthenoven #bannetons #banneton
...

46 0
Sesame Sourdough bowling alley. 
.
.
.
.
.
#woodfired #woodfiredoven #coboven #Mildrith #Mildriththeoven #woodfiredovenbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #bread #realbread #sesamesourdough #sesame #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #southerngulfislandsbakers #southerngulfislandsbakeries #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany

Sesame Sourdough bowling alley.
.
.
.
.
.
#woodfired #woodfiredoven #coboven #Mildrith #Mildriththeoven #woodfiredovenbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #bread #realbread #sesamesourdough #sesame #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #southerngulfislandsbakers #southerngulfislandsbakeries #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
...

44 0
Happy Monk Tidings - February 8, 2023 🍞 - Baker's Special: Spelt-Honey Sourdough; Happy Monk Blog: Into the Murk; REMINDER: New delivery hours and prices; [ See LinkTree in Profile ]

Happy Monk Tidings - February 8, 2023 🍞 - Baker`s Special: Spelt-Honey Sourdough; Happy Monk Blog: Into the Murk; REMINDER: New delivery hours and prices; [ See LinkTree in Profile ] ...

40 1
Happy Monk Tidings - February 3, 2023 🍞 - HAPPY MONK BLOG: Save Something From The Time Where We Will Never Be Again; BAKER'S CHOICE: Sesame Sourdough; NOTE: New Delivery Times and New Prices [ See LinkTree in Profile ]

Happy Monk Tidings - February 3, 2023 🍞 - HAPPY MONK BLOG: Save Something From The Time Where We Will Never Be Again; BAKER`S CHOICE: Sesame Sourdough; NOTE: New Delivery Times and New Prices [ See LinkTree in Profile ] ...

30 3
Happy Monk Tidings - December 14, 2022 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Fruit Sourdough Pan Loaf; Happy Monk Blog: The Year in Bread ... and Gratitude! [ See LinkTree in Profile ]

Happy Monk Tidings - December 14, 2022 🍞 - Baker`s Choice: Fruit Sourdough Pan Loaf; Happy Monk Blog: The Year in Bread ... and Gratitude! [ See LinkTree in Profile ] ...

61 1
Happy Monk Tidings - December 7, 2022 🍞 - Baker's Choices: Fig and Fennel and Rye-Currants; BLOG: The Noble French Baguette; Last Bake next week! [ See LinkTree in Profile ]

Happy Monk Tidings - December 7, 2022 🍞 - Baker`s Choices: Fig and Fennel and Rye-Currants; BLOG: The Noble French Baguette; Last Bake next week! [ See LinkTree in Profile ] ...

45 0
Happy Monk Tidings - November 30, 2022 🍞 - Bakers Choice: Cranberry-Pecan Sourdough; BLOG: Tassajara Wisdom/Perfect Loaf Mastery; REMINDER: Happy Monk holidays fast approaching! [ See LinkTree in Profile ]
.
.
.
.
#theperfectloaf #perfectloaf #perfectloaf #maurizioleo #tassajarabreadbook #tassajarabread #tassajaracookbook

Happy Monk Tidings - November 30, 2022 🍞 - Bakers Choice: Cranberry-Pecan Sourdough; BLOG: Tassajara Wisdom/Perfect Loaf Mastery; REMINDER: Happy Monk holidays fast approaching! [ See LinkTree in Profile ]
.
.
.
.
#theperfectloaf #perfectloaf #perfectloaf #maurizioleo #tassajarabreadbook #tassajarabread #tassajaracookbook
...

33 5
Happy Monk Tidings - November 16, 2022 🍞 - BAKER'S CHOICE: Spelt & Toasted Buckwheat Sourdough; BLOG: Mysticism and Bob Dylan; Extra: Happy Monk Search [ See LinkTree in Profile ]

Happy Monk Tidings - November 16, 2022 🍞 - BAKER`S CHOICE: Spelt & Toasted Buckwheat Sourdough; BLOG: Mysticism and Bob Dylan; Extra: Happy Monk Search [ See LinkTree in Profile ] ...

23 0
Just rockin’ the Olive Sourdough at 4:30 a.m. in the morning. Into Mildrith’s fire they go!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
 
#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bakerslife #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #breadmaking #breadmaking🍞 #sourdough #sourdoughbread #coboven #earthoven #earthenoven #olives #olivebread #olivesourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbakers #southerngulfislandsbakeries #penderisland

Just rockin’ the Olive Sourdough at 4:30 a.m. in the morning. Into Mildrith’s fire they go!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
 
#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bakerslife #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #breadmaking #breadmaking🍞 #sourdough #sourdoughbread #coboven #earthoven #earthenoven #olives #olivebread #olivesourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbakers #southerngulfislandsbakeries #penderisland
...

86 12

1 thought on “The Terroir of Wine and Wheat

  1. David. SUPERB!! Just back from Summerland and the Garnet Valley Vineyard of Okanagan Crush Pad, the terroir of OCP wines. My brother David, an excellent name, has been speaking of terroir for many years. He worked with his ex, Christine Colletta, and a generational wine expert from Italy and a soil specialist from Chile to assess the ‘terroir’ of this incredible property, which had never been farmed, to choose the exact place, aspect to the sun and slope and and dug deep in the soil to choose which cultivar of which grape to grow to make the wine. David has always said,”taste the dirt”. You and I must take a roadie to the OK. Okay? Stuart, the gardener who many years ago learned to speak of Soil when gardening, but that was from the great English gardeners who didn’t taste their Dirt. I must read that book. SS

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.