On Winegrowers and More‐than‐Human Workers in Ohioan and Alsatian Vineyards

Abstract

AbstractUnderstandings of the terroir concept range from recognizing “the environment” as being largely responsible for affecting the taste of a place‐based product like wine to considering the intervening role of social actors in its production. This article takes the perspective that non‐human life forms, as well as non‐living entities, are more than just ecologically embedded observers. They also have active roles in the terroir system itself. Here, I use multispecies framings and multisensory approaches to analyze data gathered from interviews and participant observation with winegrowers in central Ohio and eastern France over a period of 18 months. I contend that non‐human actants contribute various forms of labor throughout the terroir system, as understood through semiotic relationships with human counterparts. Attending to more‐than‐human workers is important for understanding changes to the “taste of place” in times of climatic, political, and socio‐cultural change.