Komplexität, Chaos

Chaos

'The flapping of the wings of the Brazilian butterfly causing a typhoon in Asia'. The well-known metaphor of modern chaos research aptly describes our concept of terroir. The more we know about wine, the more we experience it as a highly complex structure with a momentum of its own that remains incomprehensible to us. And that's why it's so fascinating. Somewhere between structure and chaos, between control and laissez-faire. Not the neatly laid down grains of sand, not the careless shovel of sand, what fascinates is the grace of the rising sand dune. Chaos research postulates the "beauty of borders".



In the vineyard

In fact, the traditional wine-growing regions are in transition zones. In Bordeaux, the southern heat meets the coolness of the Atlantic, rich clay meets barren gravel. The great Burgundians grow between Mediterranean and continental climates, between river and mountain, alluvial land and limestone cliffs. And at the climatic border of the cool north, the elegant and playful wines of the Moselle ripen on the steep slopes of the river valleys, between water and barren rocks.

In the basement

The vinification also takes place at the limit: the balancing act between action and letting happen, logic and intuition, fear and trust in the dynamics of natural ripening processes. Terroir vinification does not mean the 'construction of a sculpture', but, as Michelangelo put it so aptly, the 'knocking off the peel to reveal the core'.

»Leider werden wir meistens umgebracht. Aber wenn das nicht der Fall ist, dann geschieht etwas sehr Wunderbares«, sagt der alte Drache im Kinderbuch »Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer«.

On the palate

And ultimately, enjoyment is also an experience that shows us new limits. Terroir wines allow us to overcome known norms and taste things that are closed to the ordinary world. They fascinate because they are not clear, but rather mysterious, and always unsettling. Is it the soil, the vintage character or the typical handwriting of the winemaker? And what else is there that you can taste? The vineyard or my self-fulfilling prophecy? What do I do with the wine? What does the wine do to me ...

Enjoying a complex wine is a balancing act at the limits of our perception, is a fascinating experience between wakefulness and intoxication, is a journey into the exciting world between order and chaos.