Minerals / Minerality

Winemakers, wine merchants, wine critics and somms claim that all manner of wines have a mineral taste, but often it’s hard to figure out what they are talking about! In contrast, to myriad pretenders on Planet Wine at Gut Hermannsberg the wines have an intense mineral character. Most of the actual minerals in wine are actually potassium and this softens the tart impression from the acidity. The idea that, for example, Chablis which grows on a soil rich in chalk, that is calcium carbonate, does not mean that Chablis wines have a particularly high calcium carbonate or calcium content. This is because the vine absorbs nutrients from the soil selectively. However, there is no denying the “mineral” taste of Chablis or the Gut Hermannsberg wines, so the composition of the soil is definitely influencing how the vines grow and thereby how the wine made from their grapes tastes. This is an extremely complex subject that’s still being researched.