The will for terroir: A communicative approach

Abstract

This article discusses the concept of terroir in the light of the communication practices. It provides a literature review illustrated with a case observation. The author identifies three key stages in the constitution of the terroir through communication: organizational norms and interaction; the circulation of public relations, marketing and media messages, and promotion; and a meaningful consumer experience that closes the circle of a terroir-based storytelling. Here, communication processes play a leading role, which includes the agency of diverse stakeholders. The author argues that, among these stakeholders, geographical indication (GI) organizations are leading agents that build symbolic terroir practices. One of the text's principal theses is that terroir is a socio-cultural construction embedded in storytelling practices with a broad scientific, economic, social and cultural exchange. For this terroir to exist, there must be a collective will, driven by the interests of a wide range of stakeholders such as policymakers, local communities, vine growers, winemakers, marketers and consumers. The practice of defining, communicating and circulating this storytelling is what finally transfers agency to the narrative itself in what the author refers to as the will for terroir. The article illustrates the process with a case study of a wine GI in Catalonia (Spain) and discusses how the will for terroir is relevant at each stage.