Is there a terroir effect with wood?
The terroir effect is applicable to wood. Wood composition is influenced by climate, tree density and water supply.
Wood has different characteristics depending on the region, although in general a variety of wood profiles will be found in each forest, it is the proportion of each profile that changes.
Variability in tree growth, i.e. the size of oak rings in the same forest, can be as high as 30%. Grain is one of the important markers of the organoleptic characteristics of the wood.
Some forests tend to produce finer-grained wood. As such illustrated by three mountainous areas: Vosges, Limousin and Centre France. Oak from the Vosges forest is often finer grained, while oak from the Limousin is often coarser.
So to refer to Limousin or Allier type grain is a way to simplify things. By way of comparison, according to the book Théorie et pratique de l'élevage des vins rouges by Nicolas Vivas:
- Limousin type is rich in phenolic compounds and poor in aromatic compounds
- Vosges type is rich in phenolic and aromatic compounds
- Centre France type is poor in phenolic compounds and rich in aromatic compounds