Chronicle

Terroir 101 – An Introduction

Published

10 months ago

June 27, 2024

This article begins a series on topics necessary for those who believe that this plant deserves to be revered and elevated above (just) being marketed as an oxidized flower and/or bioremediated oil to be sold at any gas station or vending machine, in a near future.

“Cali Weed?? Territory!” Credits: @yoniappleseed

Terroir. The word that we know today from French and that generates confusion on so many occasions due to the multiplicity of factors it encompasses. After all, what is it really Terroir? In any internet search we easily find “The term derives from the Latin terratorium (…) In French, "terroir" refers to a limited extension of land considered from the point of view of its suitability for agriculture (…) endowed with a certain physical homogeneity, whether due to natural attributes (geological, topographic, edaphic, climatic, microclimatic, etc.)”. Enlightened? Of course! Without context, words are of little use.

We go back in time, to the 19th century when Europeans and more specifically the French imported wine varieties from the East Coast of the USA and Canada, trying to create new varieties to produce wine. In the imported cuttings, however, there was, among others, Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, a relative of aphids better known as Phylloxera (the name of the disease caused by the same pest). The disease caused by the pest imported from the Americas quickly spreads everywhere where there are “old vines” (from Europe) including on other continents.

Cannabis field in Morocco. Credits: OnlyGoodFumes

From the same continent that came the plague that almost decimated the wine industry at the time, they found the solution of using a variety, “Norton”, descended from vines that grew wild in the state of Virginia (known for its climatological extremes and challenging climate for producing wine). , and more specifically as rootstocks for the varieties that Europeans loved so much. Currently, most vines are grafted onto more resistant rootstocks. And what does this have to do with terroir? Feeling a loss of identity due to what happened, French winemakers began the legacy revolution that inspired the protection of various artisanal and regional products and methods around the world.

“Do you happen to no longer have DOC Trás-os-montes?” Credits: @yoniappleseed

During the centuries, and even millennia before, distinctions by region had already been observed (in the case of the Greeks and their amphorae marked by region, for example), but the detailed influences that certain factors had on the qualities had never been established with rigor and accuracy. wine endings.

Pause. With clear parallels to the contemporary cannabis landscape, it is difficult not to look at natural products like cigar tobacco and wine that would have been treated with any other commodity in a race to the bottom, had there not been the passion and desire to create a lasting legacy for that entire regions could not only maintain their culture, but prosper from it.

“This is my sacred plant! There are many sacred plants, but this is mine!”, credits: @yoniappleseed

Play. We can then name the factors that most influence Terroir:

Climate/Microclimate – Temperature, Precipitation,
Soil Composition/Soil Geology
Topography/Geography
Soil Microbiology
(Bonus) The Human Element and Intention

1 – Climate/Microclimate: Climatological patterns follow each other and the influence of latitude and geography is evident at a regional and local level in the influence of hours of sunshine, daily hours of light, sun angle, rainfall, temperatures throughout the season, etc. They completely affect the phenotypic reactions of a plant.

2 – Soil Composition/Geology: Variations in mineralogy, sand or clay content, for example, quantity and type of organic matter, etc. influence the development of a plant, as well as the production of its fruits and compounds present in them.

3 – Topography/Geography: Factors such as topography and geography help to define climates and microclimate, but also UV levels, CO2 levels, humidity, etc.

4 – Soil microbiology: The types of fauna and flora present together with other factors shape the microbiology of the soils and watercourses that flow in them, with the production of secondary metabolites closely linked with microlife, it is possible to conclude that the microlife present, or lack thereof, can completely alter the profile and final expression of a plant, along with the production of compounds by it.

5 – Human Element: Although controversial, it deserves mention. The people of the region and especially those who produce artisanal quality products influence the experience of products such as wine, beer and tobacco, with cannabis being an even more obvious component due to its subjective effects.

The controlled designation of origin requires decades of tradition and records of methodology, records that were almost impossible to maintain as operators continue to take risks to make happen what no one knows where it comes from, but which appears on the streets, due to the cool gray color that we live in Portugal.

At the same time, the traditional market, to feed fashions and trends, insists on renaming clones and classic varieties with the most resonant name of the current season, generating even more confusion about what we are all consuming.

In the next articles I will expand on each of these factors, not only to explain, but to start a public dialogue that I consider important, both on the part of operators and consumers.

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The “Legado Verde” series is an opinion section that aims to initiate a frank and open discussion to everyone and is written by a collaborator who writes under the pseudonym Yonniappleseed. The aim? Raise the plant to the highest level through the creation of new techniques/maintenance of tradition. The “Legado Verde” series promises to delve deeper into various technical topics in an accessible way and bring the public knowledge and powerful perspectives – that you won’t find in common cultivation guides.

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[Disclaimer: Please note that this text was originally written in Portuguese and is translated into English and other languages using an automatic translator. Some words may differ from the original and typos or errors may occur in other languages.]

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YonniAppleseed

@Yoni Appleseed is one of the pseudonyms associated with the Portuguese artist, brain behind The Holy Lettuce, a single source project using artisanal agricultural techniques in the traditional market and Avó Maria, a project of mechanical extraction and cannabis pastry and bonbonaria .

Yoni has had the opportunity to try different varieties grown under the Mediterranean sun since he started consuming them (along with Moroccan resin). He soon falls in love with the different effects and flavors that the plant can elicit, and attributes much of what he is to having been at the epicenter of a cultivation area in the first decade of the 2000s. He was introduced to guerilla cultivation at the age of 16 and has since filled rooms, commercial spaces and everything you can imagine to cultivate and research new varieties.As a natural curious about biology, biodiversity and travel, he lives in countries of origin, collects, acquires and exchanges genetics from family lines (“heirlooms”, “landraces”) and semi-ferals and simultaneously germinates, selects and crosses modern hybrids from Spain , USA and everywhere I can visit, sometimes when traveling, often through forums (Yes, there were cannabis discussions before Instagram and clout, imagine!).

As the 10's enter and contemporary flower fashion imported from the USA invades Europe and the rest of the world, one realizes the importance not only of preservation, but also of dissemination about countries and varieties of origin. He is one of the biggest proponents in the Iberian Peninsula that cannabis and its derivatives should be treated with the love and respect that other precious agricultural commodities obtain in order to satisfy the most demanding palates and heads (cough cough wine, cough, aged cheese, cough cigars and premium pipe tobacco) and that more information should be collected about Portugal to elevate it to the level it deserves in the world, as a top producer of flower and extractions grown outdoors with the power of the Sun.

In this decade of the 20's, alongside his other adventures, he continues to travel, and fight to see the plant free and with the respect it deserves, while researching new varieties for the most demanding markets and techniques in the world, but also thinking about a A challenging future ahead in terms of conservation and regeneration (resistance, useful chemical profiles, resource consumption, etc.). He has judged national and international cups. It keeps a finger on the pulse of the global cannabis heartbeat through its extensive network of connections with other operators in the traditional market and in already legalized countries.