Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
terroir
English translation:
terroir (in italics, +gloss on first appearance in a text)
Added to glossary by
Conor McAuley
May 9, 2004 10:47
20 yrs ago
31 viewers *
French term
France
Excellence, Expertise & Experience
Native in: English (Variants: Irish, British, Wales / Welsh, UK, Scottish)
Works in: French to English, English
terroir
French to English
Marketing
Wine / Oenology / Viticulture
In terms on wine or food growing/production, in a French context.
Always a very tricky one - there are several different ways to handle it.
Always a very tricky one - there are several different ways to handle it.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +4 | terroir |
Hans G. Liepert
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| 5 | land |
Hermeneutica
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| 5 | Stick to "terroir" |
Bourth (X)
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| 4 | vineyard terrain |
Dolores Vázquez
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| 4 | as good as any |
zaphod
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Proposed translations
+4
21 mins
Hans G. Liepert
Switzerland
Switzerland
Works in field
Switzerland
40 successful years in finance
Native in: German 
Works in: English to German, Dutch to German, Flemish to German, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
terroir
used in English in the same sense as in French (vineyard terrain is a very limited definition)
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Note added at 25 mins (2004-05-09 11:13:35 GMT)
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a fine definition from the web:
A \"terroir\" is a group of vineyards (or even vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation, and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions, grapes and wine making savoir-faire, which contribute to give its specific personality to the wine.
Terroir = Region + Appellation + Grapes + Wine making
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Note added at 25 mins (2004-05-09 11:13:35 GMT)
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a fine definition from the web:
A \"terroir\" is a group of vineyards (or even vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation, and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions, grapes and wine making savoir-faire, which contribute to give its specific personality to the wine.
Terroir = Region + Appellation + Grapes + Wine making
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Vicky Papaprodromou
4 mins
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thanks
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| agree |
cmwilliams (X)
: also refer to KudoZ glossary and past questions
7 mins
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thanks, good remark
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| agree |
Hacene
3 hrs
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thanks
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| agree |
Stephanie Mitchel
3 hrs
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thanks
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| neutral |
zaphod
: Borrowed term, like "parking" in French.
4 hrs
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how to translate 'région' into English? Of course it is borrowed, but so is nearly the entire French language from Latin
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks Hans and all other contributors"
4 mins
Dolores Vázquez
Also a Technical Engineer
Native in: Galician 
, Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, French to Spanish, German to Spanish, and 5 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
3 hrs
Hermeneutica
Switzerland
Switzerland
Native in English
Switzerland
Accurate, idiomatic value and service
Native in: Spanish , English
Works in: Dutch to English, German to English, French to English, and 16 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
land
One possibility. Again, without context ...
4 hrs
as good as any
Region
As in: wine making region. It only really becomes "terroir" when you're in it, or when they want to jack the price up. Without context, we're spinning our wheels here
As in: wine making region. It only really becomes "terroir" when you're in it, or when they want to jack the price up. Without context, we're spinning our wheels here
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Hans G. Liepert
: terroir is not only region: you have different wines in the same region, different soil etc. even a different micro climate. All that doesn't matter?
1 hr
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Not really, if you're ina market, you can get several vendors selling pates and vins de terroir, without specifying which region they're talking about.
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5 hrs
Stick to "terroir"
Declined
unless you have a specific context and a good reason for using something else. The word corresponds to the particularly French view of wine as something that is intimately linked to
its soil, its bedrock, its sun, its (preferably) south facing slopes and gradient thereof, its "bilan hydrique", etc., all of which makes each wine from every uncountable square metre of soil entirely different from its countless neighbours. Add to that the fact that French wines tend to be blends rather than varietal, et le tour est joué! The New World attitude to wine production is much more relaxed [sic?], and the aim there tends to be to produce a "typical" varietal wine, on which everything is a variant, of course, but which aims at unachievable standardness across the board, so the notion of "terroir" is largely irrelevant.
A New World pinot noir, cab sav, etc. is expected to taste like a pinot noir or cab sav, basically, irrespective of its "terroir" which merely adds (or detracts) "local colour", makes it stand out from the others in some way. A French wine from any given area, on the other hand, is expected to taste like nothing else, and so is considered to be the unique product of its own "terroir".
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Note added at 5 hrs 4 mins (2004-05-09 15:52:05 GMT)
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That said, the notion of \"terroir\" HAS emerged in the New World, so that Barrossa Valley Reds, Californian Zinfandels, Hawkes Bay Sauvignon or Canterbury Pinot Noirs are to a certain extent regarded as having their own particular - if not to say \"unique\" - qualities which it might be said are the fruit of their \"terroir\". I think anyone who knows anything about wine will know the French term, even if they don\'t understand its depth. By repeating the word in the many contexts of your document, readers will reach that understanding.
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Note added at 1 day 10 hrs 42 mins (2004-05-10 21:30:21 GMT)
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Have a look at http://www.wineanorak.com/mechanisms_terroir1.htm
its soil, its bedrock, its sun, its (preferably) south facing slopes and gradient thereof, its "bilan hydrique", etc., all of which makes each wine from every uncountable square metre of soil entirely different from its countless neighbours. Add to that the fact that French wines tend to be blends rather than varietal, et le tour est joué! The New World attitude to wine production is much more relaxed [sic?], and the aim there tends to be to produce a "typical" varietal wine, on which everything is a variant, of course, but which aims at unachievable standardness across the board, so the notion of "terroir" is largely irrelevant.
A New World pinot noir, cab sav, etc. is expected to taste like a pinot noir or cab sav, basically, irrespective of its "terroir" which merely adds (or detracts) "local colour", makes it stand out from the others in some way. A French wine from any given area, on the other hand, is expected to taste like nothing else, and so is considered to be the unique product of its own "terroir".
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs 4 mins (2004-05-09 15:52:05 GMT)
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That said, the notion of \"terroir\" HAS emerged in the New World, so that Barrossa Valley Reds, Californian Zinfandels, Hawkes Bay Sauvignon or Canterbury Pinot Noirs are to a certain extent regarded as having their own particular - if not to say \"unique\" - qualities which it might be said are the fruit of their \"terroir\". I think anyone who knows anything about wine will know the French term, even if they don\'t understand its depth. By repeating the word in the many contexts of your document, readers will reach that understanding.
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Note added at 1 day 10 hrs 42 mins (2004-05-10 21:30:21 GMT)
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Have a look at http://www.wineanorak.com/mechanisms_terroir1.htm
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
zaphod
: I almost NEVER disagree with you, but you're embellishing. It's simply regional wine. The notion has been romanticized in English, but defined in French
5 hrs
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Read http://www.wineanorak.com/mechanisms_terroir1.htm. I hadn't, but al glad I have now!
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Comment: "Thanks for your help and the great references, I have to give the points to Hans as he got in first."
Discussion
Terroir is not just "regional wine", some French people almost go rosy-eyed when they talk about it, especially here in peasant circles in Burgundy.
True, Hans - I'm guessing I should wish you "prosit".
My preferred option is putting "terroir" in italics the first time it occurs in a free-standing text, with a gloss of "unique local production conditions" in square brackets.
Thereafter I put "terroir" in italics without a gloss.
The connotations of the word are so far-ranging in the French mind that it is virtually untranslatable.
"Traditional rural/country growing methods" is another option.
Try to calm down and enjoy your Sundays - and thanks for your help so far.
There's always more than one way to skin a cat...