Make Lava, Not War

A vigneron’s approach to all their winemaking procedures is profoundly determined by their vineyard’s soil composition, and ultimately determines the resulting wines they create.  Volcanic wines, those lucky enough to be born from vines planted on the super-rare deposits from ancient volcanoes, come from vineyards so fundamentally unique that they truly drink like nothing else on earth.  Understanding volcanic wines is all about understanding their parent soil, so let’s get into today’s topic with a quick dip into one of my favorite sciences: geology!

Igneous rocks are rocks that get formed when magma (1000 degree Fahrenheit, molten liquid material deep under the earth’s crust) get expelled to the planet’s surface via violent eruptions or lava flows, which then cool rapidly into solid rock.  There are many different types of igneous rocks, and depending on the nature of the volcanic activity, they can vary in composition from light pumice, to powdery ash, to dense, dark basalt and more.  Only after a few centuries of weathering, degradation, and combining with wind-blown sediment, will these soils accumulate a high enough organic content and sufficient nutrient levels to support plant life.  These rocks form the basis of andosoils, or what we more commonly refer to as “volcanic soil,” and are the mysterious source of wine experiences unlike any other. 

Santorini

According to NASA’s “Distribution and Classification of Volcanic Soils,” andosoils make up less than 1% of the earth’s land surface, with the vast majority of these areas falling within tropical regions and not the typical latitudes more conducive to supporting viticulture.  So while you may find small pockets of volcanic soil sporadically all around the globe, they’re truly something very special and rare in the wine world.  These pockets include places you might expect, such as Mount Etna on Sicily, Santorini, or Taurasi under Mount Vesuvius… but also some places you may not realize, like the US west coast, Soave in Veneto, and even Hungary.  These dynamic regions have been enthusiastically embraced by sommeliers and wine professionals for several years now, but they’ve never quite reached the exalted status of the more classic limestone or granite-soiled regions, and remain off the radar for many wine drinkers.  Especially considering the often inhospitable and extreme environments of these volcanic areas, we’re particularly inclined to advocate for these distinctive wines and the amazing feats of the hard-working farmers who create them. 

Speaking of sciences, it may be 2022, but certain areas of wine science are disappointingly behind the times.  It was relatively recently that the world realized that the Primitivo grape of Puglia in Southern Italy was genetically identical to the Zinfandel grape, and we’re only now scratching the surface of understanding which chemical compounds in wine are responsible for the flavors and aromas we taste and smell.  First of all, it’s kind of a complicated concept to wrap your head around, but our taste buds only register the sensations of sour, sweet, salt, bitter, and savory umami.  Meanwhile, the specific flavors we taste aren’t informed by our taste buds, but are rather the result of a retro-nasal olfactory experience.  (This is why we try to aerate wine in our mouths when we’re tasting, in order to perceive every layer of flavor through our nasal receptors).  Furthermore, the flavors we do find are largely subjective and mostly dependent on our past personal experience.  So today, some skeptics will argue that there’s no direct proof of a correlation between soil type and the specific flavors you taste in your glass, but many wine professionals (S&L staff included!) would agree that there’s centuries of empirical evidence that supports the connection.  

At the very least, it’s evident that different soils have specific properties, most importantly regarding water retention.  Volcanic soils tend to be porous, allowing vines’ roots to dig deep and access underground water storages at every point in a vine’s growing cycle.  Not having this access can lead to “water stress,” which causes the roots to send certain hormonal signals to the rest of the plant above ground, ultimately determining which parts recieve the most energy and therefore growth.  On the flip side, vines don’t need an excess of water, or they risk overly vigorous canopy growth at the expense of properly ripened fruit, so the relatively quick drainage of these porous volcanic soils facilitates this ideal delicate balance.  And finally, volcanic soils are inherently inhospitable to many pests that can devastate grape vines, including the infamous louse phylloxera, which wreaked havoc on much of the wine world in the late 1800s, and forced growers the world over to dig up and replant their precious vines on alternative (American) rootstock.  Today, volcanic-soiled regions are some of the only pockets of original, ungrafted, pre-phylloxera rootstock, and can show us a rare glimpse into the wines of our ancient past.  So overall, volcanic soils uniquely provide several advantages to farming vines that have a controlled access to every environmental resource they need, without ever going overboard.  Wines from these unusual terroirs often share common characteristics that set them apart from non-volcanic wines.  The difference generally lies in volcanic wine’s distinct structure, acidic freshness, and sharp texture, with less fruit-forward flavors in lieu of a more savory, complex, earthy minerality.  

And now for the fun part, where we shout-out some of our favorite volcanic wines!  

From one of the most insane landscapes of viticulture, on the Spanish island of Tenerife in the Canaries (Tenerife is the third tallest volcano on earth!), comes Envinate Benje Tinto, a red blend of 96% Listán Prieto, with a little Listán Blanco and Tintilla.  This wine is born of low-yielding, seventy to one hundred-year-old (that’s very old!) vines planted at high elevations of 1000-1200 meters in iron-rich, basaltic, sandy volcanic soils.  Wholly natural, unfined, unfiltered, and made with very little sulfur, this wine has about ten or fifteen minutes of reductive stinky earthiness that soon blows off to reveal aromas of fresh red fruit and a floral, spicy character.  The Benje Tinto is a light and freaky, mouthwatering red, perfect for any lover of funky natural wine. 

A perpetual favorite volcanic wine region, the windswept Greek island of Santorini, brings us our next feature: Santo Assyrtiko.  Here in the black volcanic soil virtually untouched by phylloxera, this indigenous varietal can be grown on its own rootstock, producing a crisp, dry, mineral-driven white wine.  Incredibly, the vines here are trained into kouloures, that is, shaped into a basket or bird's nest shape, in order to protect the grapes from the intense island winds.  Fermented and aged in stainless steel, and rested on its lees for 14 months to balance its incredible lemony acidity with a smoother texture, this wine is thirst-quenching, with that trademark volcanic salty finish.  We drink this wine all summer long with any fish filet or fried seafood.

Just north of Lake Balaton in northwest Hungary, Somló is one of the country’s smallest wine regions, and is mostly situated in the basalt-heavy, silty loess soils directly on the slopes of an ancient sea bed volcano itself.  Solmói Vandol Juhfark is aromatic, smoky, savory, salty, and floral all at once.  Juhfark is a thin-skinned white varietal, and is very rare with only one hundred hectares of vines on earth.  It yields powerful, full-bodied white wines, with piercingly high acidity and great aging potential.  These mythical wines were once reserved for royal weddings and sold in pharmacies for their mysterious health benefits.