A Salty Sweetness: Volcanic Soils and Their Effect on Wine

One of the most amazing, and obvious, things about Mount Etna, on Sicily, is that it's an active volcano. I mean really active - it was just blowing up earlier this year, spewing ash all around the mountain and all over the set of White Lotus. 

You might think that after hearing about volcanoes your whole life, you'd grasp what it means to be on, near—or even under—one (à la Malcolm Lowry), and how that shapes the wines. I mean, the vines grow in lava flows and ash, so the wines must taste like lava and ash, right?

Wrong. 

The positive effects on vines planted in volcanic soils are many, and they don’t include the taste of lava nor ash. Minerality is highlighted, giving these wines a salty sweetness. Acidity is more vibrant and pronounced, lending an invigorating vibrancy. Volcanic soils stress the vines, leading to thicker skins with more concentration of flavors and tannins. And not the least, their mineral-rich environment provides layers of complexity in terms of flavor and aromas. 

Further - “volcanic” doesn’t necessarily mean an active volcano like the one on Sicily. Willamette Valley and parts of Washington have both fresh and ancient volcanic soils. All around the world, wine has been grown in volcanic soils, creating a vast and fascinating diversity of terroir conditions. So come join us! Explore this fascinating comparative set of volcanic wines.

Wines to be tasted: TBA