The June 8 newsletter from www.top100wines.com has a thought-provoking article by Jim Gordon, Editor and Co-Publisher, www.CaliforniaWineWeb.com, raises a very relevant point: Sun, slope and fog are part of a vineyard's terroir, but what about the owner? No matter what experts say about the best wines being created in vineyards, there's no doubt about the vintner's role in giving a personality to a wine.

"All Burgundy fans have spent too much money on dicey, mediocre Burgundy wines - even Montrachet - in search of the real gems. Because the dark side of terroir is that once a vineyard or appellation is recognised as great, it tends to guarantee a high price for the wine based solely on the reputation of that land. And there will always be a lazy or cynical vintner ready to make more money on the name of the terroir alone.

"A vintner might prune the vines too lightly to raise the yields at the expense of flavour concentration and have more bottles to sell, or harvest too early to avoid the risk of fall rains and sacrifice fully ripe flavors. For a wine drinker to taste a great terroir, it requires a vintner who will invest enough time, money and intelligence to make wines worthy of that land."

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