Castro Marti­n

One of the biggest debates in the wine business is the exact definition of the word “Terroir”. (It is also probably one of the most frequently misused words). More significantly, we have to consider how terroir affects the wines that we make here at Bodegas Castro Martin. And that’s quite a tough question to answer.

I should start by saying that ALL of the wines we make in our bodega are made using one single grape variety – Albariño. The regulations of our denomination dictates that for a wine to be named as albariño on the label, then it has to be made from 100% albariño grapes.

Every albariño grape that we harvest is vinified in exactly the same way, and so how can we explain why many of the tanks exhibit slightly different characteristics from one another? Surely it would be reasonable to assume that if every tank is made from the same grape, using the same techniques, then they should all be exactly the same…. but they are not, and at least some of these small, subtle differences can be attributed to terroir.

So how do we define terroir? Well, it’s probably true to say that not only does every country or wine region have their own definition, but sometimes even the individual winemakers will have his or her own interpretation of what it means, and what it brings to their wine. The only indisputable fact about ‘terroir’, it would seem, is that its origin is French.