Recently I attended a wine dinner where Peter Neptune, one of Southern California’s resident Master Sommeliers, gave a little talk about what makes a wine truly great. He calls it “Soil to Glass Transfer”.
Soil to Glass Transfer.
It’s the existence of a particular and singular terroir inside of a wine. It’s the expression of place within aromatics and flavors. This is the elusive quality all great winemakers strive for, and it’s certainly the element of wine tasting that all wine drinkers can agree is the most exciting.
“Soil to Glass Transfer” (or “STGT”) is what makes Syrah from the Northern Rhone different from Syrah from California. STGT is what makes one Nebbiolo taste different from another- even if the vineyards are only meters apart. STGT is the defining quality for the great wines of the world.
Thank you, Peter Neptune, for distilling down the answer to a wine lover’s biggest question- what makes a good wine truly great?– into four little letters.
STGT , Patent Pending, Peter Neptune, MS.
*please visit Peter Neptune’s wine education website at www.neptunewine.com.