Soil Types in Wine: A Visual Guide

In Champagne, the Comité Champagne says the outcrops of sedimentary rock are 75% limestone, composed of chalk, marl and limestone proper, and that this porous subsoil allows for good drainage. Chalk is made up of fragments of marine micro-organisms deposited millions of years ago; being highly porous, it acts as a reservoir storing 300-400 litres of water per m3, which ensures that the vines have a steady supply of water even in the driest summers. Chalk also draws in water through capillary action, naturally regulating the vine's water consumption. The Comité traces the story back 90 million years, when oceans covered the land and sediments settled on the seabed. Depending on whether the soil is marl, chalk or hard limestone, one variety is chosen over another: Chardonnay is mainly grown in the Côte des Blancs and Côte de Sézanne, Pinot Noir in the Montagne de Reims, the eastern Marne Valley and the Côte des Bar, and Meunier in the western Marne Valley. In Chablis, Bourgogne Wines records that Professor Georges Chappaz noted in 1904 an abundance of tiny comma-shaped oyster fossils called Exogyra virgula in the subsoil, combined with gray marl, and classified it as Kimmeridgean soil, a strata observed for the first time in Kimmeridge in England. Chablis Grand Cru vines grow on marls and Kimmeridgian limestones formed during the Upper Jurassic, some 150 million years ago, and Bourgogne Wines calls it one of the few French AOCs to define itself in terms of its geology. In Vosne-Romanée, the communal appellation's soils are limestone mixed with clayey marls.

• Champagne: 75% of the outcrops are limestone (chalk, marl and limestone proper); chalk stores 300-400 litres of water per m3 (Comité Champagne)
• Chablis: Kimmeridgian marls and limestones with exogyra virgula oyster fossils, formed some 150 million years ago (Bourgogne Wines)
• Chablis: more than 5,400 hectares of Chardonnay are planted on Kimmeridgean soil (Bourgogne Wines)
• Vosne-Romanée: limestone mixed with clayey marls, from some tens of centimetres to 1 metre deep (Bourgogne Wines)

WSET notes that soils containing a lot of clay will usually be cooler as they absorb and retain water, which can be extremely useful in drier climates. In Pomerol, the Bordeaux Wines describes the soils of the plateau as a mixture of clay-gravel and sandy gravel, with density varying from one plot to the next, over a subsoil rich in iron oxide known locally as "crasse de fer" (ironpan), which it calls the key to Pomerol's distinctive character. In the Langhe, the Barolo and Barbaresco consorzio says the most common and widespread formation, the Sant'Agata Marls, is composed almost entirely of marly layers with little sand, giving soils with a significant percentage of fine sediments, silt and clay. The Lequio Formation, found in the central-southern part of Serralunga and on the eastern slope of Monforte, alternates layers of clay marl with lesser layers of sand, and its soils are loamy, with a fair percentage of clay and sand, and decidedly calcareous.

• Clay-rich soils are usually cooler because they absorb and retain water (WSET)
• Pomerol: clay-gravel and sandy gravel over an iron-oxide subsoil called crasse de fer (Bordeaux Wines)
• Barolo and Barbaresco: the Sant'Agata Marls, the most widespread formation, give soils rich in fine sediments, silt and clay (Langhe consorzio)
• Serralunga and eastern Monforte: the Lequio Formation alternates clay marl and sand (Langhe consorzio)

In the Graves, the Bordeaux Wines says gravel and pebbles from the Pyrenees were carried by the Garonne, and that these "graves" soils store heat from the sun's rays during the day and release it at night in the vineyards; the appellation's name comes from the old French "grava", meaning a gravelly terrain. Under the surface, stones, gravel, sand, silt and clay lie atop a limestone, iron hardpan and clay subsoil, giving well-drained soils. In the Médoc, the Garonne deposited aggregates and sediments which, with erosion, formed clay limestone layers or "Pyrenean" gravel hillocks in localized areas that provide the vines with perfectly drained soils. In Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Southern Rhône, INAO describes the appellation as sitting on terraces of galets roulés (rolled pebbles) along the left bank of the Rhône, and says the stony soils give back at night the heat the pebbles stored during the day, favouring full ripeness of the grapes. Vins Rhône says the appellation area covers soils with numerous rolled pebbles mixed with red clay, as well as sand and sandstone soils, and that Grenache noir is the dominant grape variety.

• Graves: gravel soils store the sun's heat by day and release it at night (Bordeaux Wines)
• Médoc: Pyrenean gravel hillocks deposited by the Garonne give perfectly drained soils (Bordeaux Wines)
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape: terraces of galets roulés that give back at night the heat stored by day (INAO)
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape: rolled pebbles mixed with red clay, plus sand and sandstone soils; Grenache noir dominant (Vins Rhône)

Wines of Greece says Santorini soils are volcanic, a combination of basalt, volcanic ash, sand, pumice, andesite and various other volcanic rocks, and that vines are planted on a white layer of lava, Therean ash and pumice whose depth varies from 30 to 50 meters. This layer enriches the soil with calcium, magnesium, ferrous iron and silicium but is poor in potassium, which Wines of Greece says may serve to explain the especially high acidity the grapes have at ripeness. Because the soil is sandy with a very small percentage of clay, the PDO Santorini vineyard is self-rooted and was never affected by phylloxera, and its old, ungrafted, basket-trained vines sit in many cases on 300-year-old roots. Wines of Greece describes dry PDO Santorini as allowing at least 85% Assyrtiko. On Mount Etna in Sicily, the Consorzio Etna DOC says soils are sometimes pebbly and gravelly, sometimes sandy, or rather, ashes, and that their volcanic composition determines the distinctive mineral flavour of Etna wines. The Consorzio adds that the volcanic soils have made the vines immune to phylloxera, so ancient vineyards are often ungrafted, and names Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, Carricante and Catarratto as the main indigenous varieties.

• Santorini: basalt, volcanic ash, sand, pumice and andesite, on a layer 30 to 50 meters deep (Wines of Greece)
• Santorini: rich in calcium, magnesium and ferrous iron but poor in potassium, which may help explain the grapes' high acidity (Wines of Greece)
• Santorini and Etna: sandy volcanic soils kept phylloxera out, so many vines are ungrafted (Wines of Greece; Consorzio Etna DOC)
• Etna: the volcanic composition of the soil determines the distinctive mineral flavour of the wines (Consorzio Etna DOC)

The Weinland Mosel brochure explains that 400 million years ago, in the Devonian period, today's Mosel valley was covered by an ocean in which enormous quantities of sediments were deposited; when the sea floor was compressed under enormous pressure and high temperatures, the sediments metamorphosed into slate. Half of the vineyard areas are on Devonian slate along the Saar, Ruwer and Middle Mosel from Trier to Zell. Pure slate is found in shades from grey and blue to brown and red, the dark Devonian slate is prevalent, and red slate soil is found only at the beginning of the Middle Mosel near Schweich. The brochure says one major feature of slate is its ability to store heat, which is particularly advantageous on cool autumn nights. Wines of Germany adds that the steep slate slopes above the rivers store the sun's heat during the day and release it again at night, and that the vines' roots penetrate deep into the ground to seek water and minerals. Near Ürzig, the brochure notes a particularity: Red Rhyolite, a stone of volcanic origin. In Catalonia, INCAVI says the DOQ Priorat is the territory of llicorella, the local name for the slate rock that characterises the appellation; nearly 90% of the subsoil of its villages is slate, with low organic matter and high stoniness and permeability, and the dark colour of the llicorella absorbs radiation and returns the heat to the plant. The DOQ Priorat names Carinyena (Carignan) and Garnatxa (Grenache) as its most important native varieties and puts average yields at less than 1 kg per plant.

• Mosel: Devonian slate formed 400 million years ago covers half of the vineyard areas along the Saar, Ruwer and Middle Mosel (Weinland Mosel)
• Mosel: slate stores heat, particularly advantageous on cool autumn nights; red slate soil is found only near Schweich (Weinland Mosel)
• Mosel: steep slate slopes store the sun's heat by day and release it at night (Wines of Germany)
• Priorat: llicorella is the local name for the slate rock; nearly 90% of the villages' subsoil is slate (INCAVI)

Wines of Germany lists hard granite among the German soil types, alongside loose sandy subsoil, loam, loess and brittle slate. In Beaujolais, Inter Beaujolais says more than 300 soils have been identified, and that while the south's soil is often clayey, sometimes chalky, in the north, where the communal AOCs (the Beaujolais crus) are located, the soil is often sandy, half granitic in origin. Ninety percent of the Fleurie terroir is pink granite undergoing slow erosion, and Fleurie vines grow in sandy soil formed by its weathering; Inter Beaujolais adds that on granitic soil, gamay grapes produce powerful and deeply-coloured wines. In Moulin-à-Vent, the vines draw nutrients from the manganese in the pink granite soil. In the Northern Rhône, Vins Rhône describes Côte-Rôtie as granite with three distinct terroirs, mica schist to the north, gneiss to the south and migmatite in the extreme south east, on a bedrock with a large number of fissures and fractures that allow roots to find water and other nutrients. Cornas soil is chiefly decomposed granite, giving sandy clay soils known as "gores", and the main component of the Saint-Joseph soils is granite.

• Beaujolais: the crus are in the north, where the soil is often sandy, half granitic in origin (Inter Beaujolais)
• Fleurie: 90% pink granite; Moulin-à-Vent: vines draw nutrients from the manganese in the pink granite soil (Inter Beaujolais)
• Côte-Rôtie: fissured bedrock of mica schist, gneiss and migmatite lets roots find water (Vins Rhône)
• Cornas: decomposed granite gives sandy clay soils called gores; Saint-Joseph: mainly granite (Vins Rhône)

The IVDP says most of the Douro Demarcated Region, particularly along the Douro River and its tributaries, is schistose, with some granite around the edges. In the great majority of the land under vines, growers built terraces by digging down deeply and forcing the vertically-layered rock to break up, creating a soil designated aric anthrosoil. Most of the topsoil consists of clay mixed with particles of broken schistous rock that also penetrate between the vertical layers of rock; this protects the soil from water erosion, enables water to seep down to great depths to the roots of the vines, and holds the heat from the sun, which avoids wide ranges of daytime temperature and helps the grapes to mature. The IVDP adds that the soil contains little organic matter (1.5%) and is predominantly acid, with a pH (H2O) between 4.6 and 5.5.

• Douro: mostly schistose, with some granite around the edges (IVDP)
• Terraces were built by forcing the vertically-layered rock to break up, creating aric anthrosoil (IVDP)
• Broken schist lets water seep down to great depths and holds the sun's heat (IVDP)
• Little organic matter (1.5%) and predominantly acid soils, pH (H2O) 4.6 to 5.5 (IVDP)

Wines of Portugal says Colares is one of Portugal's most original and alternative appellations, with vineyards of the Ramisco variety planted by the sea on very loose sandy soils, in the sand dunes west of Lisbon. There the vines are planted ungrafted, on their own roots, deep into the sand, because the phylloxera bug cannot survive in sand; Ramisco produces wines with hard tannins and high acidity that, if well made, are capable of long ageing in bottle. Wines of Greece says Santorini's soil is sandy with a very small percentage of clay, and that for this reason its vineyard was never affected by phylloxera. In Barolo, the Langhe consorzio describes the Diano Sandstones as sandy layers originating from submarine landslides, giving soils very rich in sand, less calcareous and with a low clay content, widespread in Monforte, Castiglione Falletto, Barolo and Diano d'Alba.

• Colares: Ramisco vines planted ungrafted, deep into the sand, because the phylloxera bug cannot survive in sand (Wines of Portugal)
• Colares: vineyards by the sea on very loose sandy soils, in the sand dunes west of Lisbon (Wines of Portugal)
• Santorini: sandy soil with very little clay was never affected by phylloxera (Wines of Greece)
• Barolo: the Diano Sandstones give soils very rich in sand and low in clay in Monforte, Castiglione Falletto, Barolo and Diano d'Alba (Langhe consorzio)

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