VINITALY 2008 - THE FUTURE HORIZONS FOR THE WORLD OF WINE? ACCORDING TO THIERRY DESSEAUVE, “EVEN TERROIR CAN BE EXPORTED OUT OF EUROPE AND THE HOMOGENIZATION OF FLAVORS IS ONLY A TEMPORARY DANGER”

The globalization of wine does not scare Thierry Desseauve (the famous French wine writer who, together with Michel Bettane, makes up one half of the most authoritative wine critic duo in the world), and he even proposes that terroir can be reproduced outside of their historic and natural spot within the confines of Europe.
“At this point” - explained Desseauve - “even producers in the New World have learned to exploit the peculiarities and the fundamental elements of a patrimony that we are used to considering as one that is only ours: terroir. Even in New Zealand or Australia, there are great wines that base their greatness on the originality of the areas where they are produced and we could easily define this as territorial”.
In these terms, even the feared homogenization of tastes, according to the famed enologist, is thus diminished.
“The homogenization of flavors is a temporary danger, in the sense that it can only seduce ‘amateur’ wine enthusiasts. The current consumers are capable of orienting themselves with sufficient autonomy and, after a few necessary mistakes are made, they end up searching for authenticity and, above all, originality in wine”.