Guide des CÉPAGES et TERROIRS: the soil beneath the vines

These are some of the drawings that I have done for the book Guide des CÉPAGES et TERROIRS, by Charles Frankel, published by Delachaux & Niestlé and on the shelves last summer.

Despite a few drawings of grapes, most of the drawings in this book are geological cross-sections of various singular French vineyards –  or terroirs. They weren’t easy to draw and I had to use as a reference a mix of maps, sketches by the author, 2-dimensional cross-sections and numerous images from Google Earth.

Geology is not my speciality, but it was a stimulating exercise. The way in which different strata are represented graphically in geological texts has always intrigued me (stripes, dots, hatching, etc.) and now I find myself using the same techniques. I have to confess that it was a slightly strange task, but it is a technique that is very practical for separating different types of rock.

The differences in scale of the landscapes was an added handicap – the books includes terroirs of just a few hectares, as well as others that stretch over numerous square kilometres. Nevertheless, I think the result is convincing and easy to understand.

My friend Anna from Celler Espelt, a truly discerning enologist, likes my drawings and says that she would like to have some panoramas/geological cross-sections for her vineyards in the Empordà, from Rabós to Roses. I’ll drink to that!