Wine Word of the Week: Macroclimate


By Kori ~ July 19th, 2011.

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is macroclimate.

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Macroclimate, also called regional climate, means a climate broadly representing an area or region on a scale of tens to hundreds of kilometers. Unlike the more precise terms microclimate and mesoclimate, macroclimate approximates to what is normally meant by the word ‘climate’. It is usually taken from a long-established recording station within the region. ….

Macroclimatic data have to be used with caution when applied to viticulture. Informed adjustments are nearly always needed for differences in altitude, latitude, slope, aspect, and even soil type, before worthwhile estimates can be made for the mesoclimates of actual vineyards. ….

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Macroclimate is the climate of a particular region.


Filed under: Wine Word of the Week
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Reader's Comments

  1. TheGourmetCoffeeGuy | July 21st, 2011 at 9:24 pm

    Kori, always interesting word of the week posts. You should publish a glossary, quite sure would be very popular. Thank you for the insights.

  2. Kori | July 26th, 2011 at 10:55 am

    CoffeeGuy,
    Thanks! A glossary, interesting idea. Cheers!