Soils Flashcards by Emma Findlayson

Alluvial Soils

River deposits
Highly fertile
Often contains gravel, silt and sand

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Alluvial soil examples

Argentina (Neuquen, Rio Negro)
SW France

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Basalt (Volcanic) Soils

High in calcium, iron, magnesium
Volcanic

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Examples of Basalt (Volcanic)

Baden
Soave
Campagnia (Mt Vesuvius)
Tasmania

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Calcareous Soils

Alkaline
High levels of calcium and magnesium
Cool temperatures, delays ripening
Calcareous clay = high limestone content

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Examples of calcareous soils

Central Italy: marche, Umbria, Abruzzo

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Chalk soils

Very porous soft limestone
Good drainage
Good for grapes with high acidity levels

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Examples of chalk soils

Touraine
Wursburg, Franken

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Clay soils

Good water retention, poor drainage
Very cool
High in acidity

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Examples of clay soils

Médoc (clay and gravel)
Right bank (clay and limestone)

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Granite soils

Warms quickly and retains heat well
High level of acidity - reduces acidity in grapes

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Examples of granite

Beaujolais cru
Northern Rhône
Portugal (granite and sand)

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Gravel soils

Good drainage
Poor fertility
Vines go deep for nutrients

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Examples of gravel

Left bank Bordeaux - best sites

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Kimmeridgian Soils

Grey coloured limestone based soil
Kimmeridgian clay is calcareous clay containing Kimmeridgian limestone

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Kimmeridgian soil examples

Loire valley
Champagne
Côte d’Or
Chablis

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Limestone soils

Consistently alkaline, generally planted with grapes of high acidity levels

Limestone examples

Barossa
Burgundy: limestone and marl
Vouvray (very well draining)
Pouilly fumé, Sancerre
Southern rhone (limestone and clay)
Gavi

Llicorella soils

Mix of slate and quartz
Very porous, drains well

Llicorella examples

Priorat (unique) on bedrock of schist

Loam soils

Warm, soft, fertile soil
Silt/sand/clay
Too fertile for most high quality

Loam examples

Marlborough

Loess soils

Very fine silt based soil, wind bourne sediment
Good water retention and water properties

Loess examples

Austria for Gruner
Tokaj hill

Marl soils

Calcareous clay based soil Cool, so delays ripening Deep soils

Marl examples

Piemonte (central valley Barolo, wines are less tannic and more velvety)

Sand soils

Warm, airy soil Phylloxera resistant Drains well, not good at retaining water Sandstone is sand that has been pressured

Sand examples

Maipo (sandy and gravel) Tasmania (sandstone and volcanic)

Schist soils

Retains heat well Rich in magnesium Poor in organic nutrients

Schist examples

Beaujolais crus Savennieres

Shale soils

Fine grain sedimentary soils Moderately fertile Retains heat well

Shale examples

Central Italy (Sangiovese) Santa Maria Valley (Pinot noir and Chardonnay) Swartland, paardeberg

Silt soils

Fine grain deposits Good water retention Poor drainage More fertile than sand

Silt examples

Tokaj Hill Castilla y Léon Willamette - Van Duzer Corridor

Silex soils

Flint and sand based Mix of clay, limestone and silica

Silex examples

Sancerre

Slate soils

Retains heat well, warms up quickly Dark slate radiates heat back at night

Slate examples

Mosel Valley

Terra Rossa soils

Sedimentary soil Iron deposits oxidise and turn rusty coloured Drains well High in nutrients

Terra Rossa examples

Some parts of Med Coonawarra (Cab Sauv) McLaren Vale