Understanding the term 'terroir'

What exactly do we know about the term "terroir"? Recent studies by Nathalie Spielmann from NEOMA Business School in France analysed the notion of the word, by uncovering the dimensions of authenticity in terroir products as well as the term's perceived value to consumers.

The author analysed every issue of five print magazines in France over a period of one year and concluded that when "terroir" is included in an article it is coupled with higher scores and prices for wines than when not included. Further, while sometimes related to geographical features, terroir is used mostly to communicate subjective experiences of taste.

Another study published by Spielmann and Charters in 2013 indicates that the terroir concept comprises three dimensions of authenticity: product, internalised, and institutional authenticity and that all these dimensions are correlated. Each of the dimensions impacts perceptions of quality and value.

Both aforementioned research studies stem from an initial study published in 2012 by Spielmann and Gelinas-Chebat, entitled "Terroir? That's not how I would describe it". The objective of the research was to uncover if the definition of "terroir" is the same between all users of the term in France. Prior to this, there were only conceptual definitions of "terroir" in the market place.