Terroir Matters

By Doug Haugen

A trained geologist with degrees in Earth Science and Soil Science including a Ph.D from UC Davis, and a résumé that includes a professorship in geology, agriculture and soil science, years of scientific research, consulting on a majority of the AVA petitions in the State of Washington and finally starting a vineyard consulting company called Vinitas, it seemed a natural matter of course for the legendary Alan Busacca to dabble in the wine side of wine. Dabbing, however, just isn’t his thing, so he cannonballed right in.

Having worked so closely with vine and soil, Busacca understands the influence and impact of terroir on the finished juice, so it makes sense that his debut in the winery business emphasizes just that, and how.

A couple of years ago, Busacca got acquainted with winemaker Robert O. Smasne, a titan in his own right, who has been industriously working behind the scenes for thirteen years, producing quality wines for his own labels and others’. Smasne is the winemaker or winemaker consultant for a total of about twenty wineries, a mercenary of libations with a reputation for delivering the goods. Who better to partner up with in order to facilitate the Grand Experiment.

AlmaTerra is grand, but it’s more an experiment for you, the consumer, than for them. With a wealth of multi-faceted experience between them, they knew just how this would play out.

AlmaTerra is a set of wines “inspired by terroir.” They made three single-vineyard Syrahs from three AVAs. Same vintage. Same methods for harvesting, crushing, barreling, the works. Same time in oak, same time in bottle. The only thing different about these wines is where they come from. And, these wines were made to express the microclimate and soil the fruit came from, a method sometimes described as “get out of the way.” That means that side-byside, the dramatic differences in flavor you experience in the glass is entirely terroir-driven. There is a fourth Syrah, The Coéo (Latin for “coming together”) which is a blend of the previous three, combining the best elements of each of them in a symbiotic way that is anything but lurchy and disjointed. It is an alliance of wine.

Then they turned around and did the same thing with Viognier.

The wines are sold in sets of four, in beautiful wooden boxes built by the disabled in Oregon. Each of them stand alone as remarkable, drinkable wines, but the real fun comes in tasting them in a flight. Gather your friends together and start popping corks; you’re sure to have plenty to talk about.

(AlmaTerra is currently only available for purchase out of their new tasting room in Woodinville. Visit their website at almaterrawines.com for details.)