Wset Diploma Soil Types

Front 1

Rioja Alavesa

Back 1

Chalk rich soils produce lighter bodied wines with finesse

Front 2

Rioja Alta

Back 2

Clay soils suited to Viura
or
Red, iron rich soils suited to Tempranillo

Front 3

Rioja Baja

Back 3

Heavy Clay soils

Front 4

Navarra

Back 4

Broad range of soil types

Front 5

Carinena

Back 5

Red/brown limestone with rocky subsoil. High levels of calcium carbonate and slate in places

Front 6

Catatayud

Back 6

Brown limestone and loam over slate and gypsum

Front 7

Penedes

Back 7

Sandy soils in coastal areas
Chalk and clay on hill sites
High quentity of limestone

Front 8

Conca de Barbera

Back 8

Limestone bedrock
Brown top soil containing chalk and alluvial soils

Front 9

Costers del Segre

Back 9

Sandy top soil over limestone

Front 10

Priorat

Back 10

'Llicorella' volcanic topsoil
is red slate and mica, about 50cm thick over bedrock of schist

Front 11

Tarragona

Back 11

Dark soils
Alluvial on plains/coast (Tarragona Campo)
Some limestone in hills (Tarragona Falset

Front 12

Terra Alta

Back 12

Dark brown top soil on a base of limestone and clay

Front 13

Toro

Back 13

Duero Valley
Mainly alluvial
Northern areas of sand with stoney or limestone subsoil

Front 14

Rueda

Back 14

Soils rich in iron with good drainage
High chalk content in north beside the Duero

Front 15

Ribera del Duero

Back 15

Best sites have high limestone content and large stones to aid drainage

Front 16

Bierzo

Back 16

Rich, fertile soil

Front 17

Rias Baixas

Back 17

Sand or alluvial topsoils over granite bedrock

Front 18

Valencia

Back 18

Clay by coast
Limestone inland/higher

Front 19

Alicante

Back 19

Alluvial soils plus degraded limestone over limestone subsoil

Front 20

Jumilla

Back 20

Dry sandy soil

Front 21

Yecla

Back 21

limestone bedrock with brown subsoil and high carbonate content
or
sandy topsoil with clay

Front 22

La Mancha

Back 22

Dry and hard with shallow sandy topsoil

Front 23

Valdepenas

Back 23

Limestone based with good water retention

Front 24

Vinho Verde

Back 24

Granite bedrock, sand and granite topsoil

Front 25

Bairradea

Back 25

Bairro is Portugese for clay!
Heavy clay soils with high limestone content

Front 26

Ribatejo

Back 26

Broad range of soils, from alluvial river plains to clay/sandstone/lime

Front 27

Palmela

Back 27

Limestone on hills, sand on plains

Front 28

Alentejo

Back 28

Loam with granite and schist

Front 29

Stellenbosch District

Back 29

Granite and sandstone

Front 30

Paarl District

Back 30

Varied from sand to decomposed granite

Front 31

Tulbagh District

Back 31

Low ph granite slopes. Riverbanks of deep sand and stone on clay

Front 32

South African Hilltop soils

Back 32

Well drained deep granite and clay

Front 33

South African Slope Soils

Back 33

Shallow to medium. Sand covering heavy clay

Front 34

South African Valley Soils

Back 34

Medium to deep alluvial and sandstone

Front 35

Lower Hunter Zone

Back 35

Mainly Volcanic basalt

Front 36

Port Phillip Zone

Back 36

Varied
(sand, clay, loam, volcanic)

Front 37

Western Victoria Zone

Back 37

Limestone rich (Grampians, Pyrenees, Bendigo)

Front 38

Barossa Zone

Back 38

Limestone and ironstone

Front 39

Coonawarra

Back 39

Limestone coast zone
Red terra rossa over limestone base

Front 40

South Island NZ soils

Back 40

free draining stoney loam with chateauneuf style pudding stones which store heat during day and release at night (flat river valleys)

Front 41

High water retention in NZ soils necessitates?

Back 41

- inter-row crops
- drainage channels
- rootstock to minimise vigor

Front 42

Auckland

Back 42

Heavy clay based soils

Front 43

Gisborne

Back 43

Fertile soils

Front 44

Hawkes Bay

Back 44

Gimlett Gravels sub region of well drained gravel

Front 45

Marlborough

Back 45

Best on stony, free draining soils in Wairau, Waihopai and Awatere Valleys

Front 46

Santa Cruz Mountains

Back 46

California North Central Coast
Poor soil producing great wines

Front 47

Medoc AC

Back 47

Predominantly clay with some gravel (no 1855 properties)

Front 48

Graves AC

Back 48

Red on gravel
White on sandy soils

Front 49

Saint-Emilion AC

Back 49

Premier Grand Cru Classe and Grand Crus grown on =
North West plateau - well drained gravel and limestone
or
South East limestone escarpment
(Sandy soils below this escarpment produce lighter wines)

Front 50

3 Main Bordeaux Soils

Back 50

Alluvial - lowest level
Limestone subsoil - St Emilion
Gravel over marl and flint - Haut Medoc and Pessac-Leognan

Front 51

Bordeaux Riverbanks

Back 51

Alluvial

Front 52

St Emilion dominent soil

Back 52

Limestone subsoil with broken stone and sand (also on hillsides in other areas of Bordeaux)

Front 53

Haut Medoc and Pessac-Leognan

Back 53

Free draining gravel over base of marl and flint

Front 54

Cote d'Or

Back 54

Limestone and marl

Front 55

Maconnais

Back 55

Limestone

Front 56

2 main Burgundy soils

Back 56

Calcareous clay (mainly Chardonnay)

Limestone and Marl (mainly Pinot Noir)

Front 57

Burgundy soil factors

Back 57

- steepness of slope
- direction of slope
- depth
- drainage
- heat retention
- mineral content
In best sites shallow soils force roots to penetrate limestone base

Front 58

Beaujolais soils

Back 58

North West = rolling hills of granitic schist (best sites)
Eastern = alluvial
Southern = limestone

Front 59

Alsace Upper Slopes

Ribeauville to Turckheim and around Selestat

Back 59

Alluvial granite and gneiss

Front 60

Alsace Upper Slopes

To the North at Andlau

Back 60

Schist. Quartz and clay

Less permeable than granite

Front 61

Alsace Upper Slopes

Narrower river valleys eg Thann and Guebwiller

Back 61

Sedimentary volcanic

mineral rich sandstone with schist and volcanic rock

Front 62

Alsace Upper Slopes

soil type with poor mineral content

Back 62

Sandstone.

Sandy, light and permeable

Front 63

Alsace Upper Slopes

4 soil types

Back 63

- Alluvial granite and gneiss
- Schist (quartz and clay)
- Sedimentary volcanic
- Sandstone

Front 64

Alsace Lower Slopes

soil types

Back 64

- Calcareous
- Calcareous sandstone
- Clay/marl
- Calcareous/marl (best for vine)

Front 65

Alsace Lower Slopes

Between Ribeauville and Rouffach

Back 65

Calcareous
fertility varies with clay content
Dry and pebbly

Front 66

Alsace Lower Slopes

Calcareous Sandstone

Back 66

Less Clay
Better Drainage
Less Fertile

Front 67

Alsace Lower Slopes

Clay/marl

Back 67

small pebbles on heavy, almost impermeable soil.

Rich in fertilising elements

Front 68

Alsace Lower Slopes

Calcareous/marl

Back 68

- poor
- deep
- rich in calcium
- bes suited to the vine

Front 69

Alsace plains soil types

Back 69

- base of lowest slopes
- good drainage, water and sun
- large soil variations
- Rootstock selection needed

Front 70

Alsace Grand Cru Sites

Back 70

Defined by analysis of soil for organic, phosphoric and potassium content.

Front 71

Alsace Riesling suitable soil

Back 71

Granite and Schist

Front 72

Alsace Gewuztraminer suitable soil

Back 72

Deep marl in the foothills

Front 73

Alsace suitable soil for:

Pinot Gris

Back 73

Deep soils rich in clay and fine particles or volcanic rock

Front 74

Alsace suitable soil for:

Muscat

Back 74

sandy or calcareous soils

Front 75

Alsace suitable soil for:

Pinot Blanc

Back 75

Light, fertile soils

Front 76

Alsace suitable soil for:

Sylvaner

Back 76

Deep sandy or chalk soils

Front 77

Alsace suitable soil for:

Pinot Noir

Back 77

Sandy and Calcareous soils similar to Burgundy

Front 78

Alsace suitable soil for:

Chasselas

Back 78

Tolerates a range of soils

Front 79

Sancerre soils

Back 79

Chalky

well draining stoney soil rich in marine fossils

Front 80

Pouilly Fume

Back 80

Flinty

well draining stoney soil rich in marine fossils

Front 81

Menetou-Salon AC
Reuilly AC
Quincy AC

Back 81

- Kimmeridgian clay similar to Chablis
- hard calcaire and sandy soils

Front 82

Touraine

Vouvray

Back 82

Well draining limestone rich in marine fossils and calcium

Front 83

Chinon 3 soil types

Back 83

- Sandy, Vienne River Valley
- Clay and gravel, North. plateau
- Limestone, Hillside slopes

Front 84

Montlouis AC

Back 84

Across river from Vouvray, similar well draining limestone soils rich in calcium and marine fossils

Front 85

Bourgueil AC

Back 85

South facing limestone slopes

Front 86

Anjou-Saumur

Back 86

Mix of volcanic, metamorphic, schist, limestone and carboniferous rock

Front 87

Saumur AC
Saumur-Champigny AC

Back 87

Chenin (dry to sweet)
Cabernet Franc

Tuffeau

Front 88

Nantais

Back 88

Diverse but predominately
- well drained schist and gneiss
- some granite and sandy soils

Front 89

Muscadet de Sevre et Maine AC

Back 89

High quality rolling hills

Front 90

Mosel

Back 90

Riesling on steep slate soils

Front 91

Rheingau

Back 91

- slopes of slate, loess & loam
- sandy loam in the valley
- dark slate absorbs day heat and warms at night

Front 92

Nahe

Back 92

- Northern sandy loam for Muller-Thurgau and Silvaner

- Riesling on prophry, quartz and coloured sandstone soils

Front 93

Pfalz

Back 93

predominantly sandstone

Front 94

Baden

Back 94

Mineral rich slopes of extinct volcano

Front 95

England and Wales

Back 95

Best sites in south/south east have chalk or limestone subsoil in continuation of that found in Champagne

Front 96

Nothern Rhone

Back 96

Granitic soils prone to erosion.

Often pulled back up slope using pulley system

Front 97

Southern Rhone

Back 97

Large round pudding stones store heat in the day and release at night

Front 98

Languedoc, Roussillon and Provence

Back 98

Range of soil types:
- rich river valleys
- alluvial sand in the Rhone delta
- clay and gravel plains
- limestone common factor throughout all soil types

Front 99

Sudosteiermark

Back 99

Volcanic soils for excellent Gewurztraminer

Front 100

Tavel AC

Back 100

limestone in soil

Front 101

Lirac AC

Back 101

Similar to Tavel (limestone)

Front 102

Rhone delta

Back 102

Alluvial

Front 103

Lower Austria

Back 103

Loess, well draining - best sites are loess over granite

- Rich alluvial soils for black grapes near the Danube

Front 104

Burgenland

Back 104

North East predominantly sand (some ungrafted vines near Neusiedl)

remainer of Burgenland is sand covering calcareous rock

Front 105

Styria

Back 105

very hilly clay over limestone

Front 106

Trans-Danubia

Back 106

Hungarian Northern Massif

Volcanic, iron rich soil giving body to the wine (Szekszard and Villany-Siklos REDS)

Front 107

Great Plain of Hungary

Back 107

Sandy and phylloxera free

Many vineyards, little quality

Front 108

Romanian soils

Back 108

Great variety

Stony and free draining near Carpathians

Alluvial and sand near the coast

Front 109

Oltrepo Pavese DOC

Back 109

Lombardy

Calcareous clay (Apennine foothills to the Po)

Front 110

Soave

Back 110

DOC

Best sites from Volcanic soils of Classico region near Soave town

Front 111

Bianco di Custoza

Back 111

DOC Veneto

Limestone hills

Front 112

Colli Euganei

Back 112

DOC Veneto

Hills of volcanic origin, Nutrient rich soil suitable for viticulture

Front 113

Emilia-Romagna

Back 113

Fertile and high yielding

Front 114

Chianti Classico DOCG

Back 114

varied soils, hill sites best

Front 115

Orvieto

Back 115

DOC in Umbria

Similar to Tuffeau of Vouvray