Basalt and Other Walla Walla Musings

Delivering a lecture to about 200 about terroir is a little unsettling. Especially when a good chunk of them are in the wine industry. I'm better than Q&A than in the body of delivery, but what could I do but get up there and try to measure up. I hit some pressure points. I couldn't avoid them. All I had to do was bring up that the best sites are often not the most fun to farm or to live in. Or, perhaps there's too much reliance on irrigation and not enough on finding the right sites that don't need water. Another one that won me Miss Popularity was recounting the story of Pascaline being shocked, stunned, to see on Long Island vines planted next to corn. "Grapes for terroir wine," she said, "need different soils than corn and wheat need." And when I followed up with the musing that sometimes I wonder if the New World translates terroir into, "What a gorgeous view," was enough to get me tarred and feathered. Oddly enough, it was not. Oh sure, there were a few odd questions, as if some folk were out to get me, "Well, what about Burgundy. They get 39 inches of rain a year!" One gentleman said and asked..."Isn't that manipulation?" I was not quite sure how to take this question so I handled it as if it was genuine. Another question/statement, "Irrigation isn't used to grow a grape for flavor." That one was another odd one. I sort of said, "And what is extended hang time? For example?" But, the group was terrific, mostly interested, engaging and just a mix of every view point. However, if I had any doubts, they all melted away like a spring snow, when at end of the lively Q&A a group of Eno students surrounded me and said, "We're the next generation and we're going to make changes!" (or something like that.) The next day Geology Prof. Kevin took me around to a grower in the middle of wheat fields which looked to be planted on a soil of pure silt. The winemaking was good. The terroir limited. The wines tasted hydroponic. I found myself a passenger through the eerie hills, looking for Basalt. And when Kevin reminded me that basalt is also the main ingredient in Sicily's Mt. Etna as well as the Carnaries, I was further intrigued. Here's a little Canary for you In other words, I'll looking forward to seeing Walla Walla, next stage.