Everything about this orchard; its climate, geology and situation is naturally geared towards a balanced ripening both of sugars and of the complex phenolics, particularly tannins, that characterise Dabinett, the world’s most common bittersweet cider apple. Grown in any of the surrounding orchards, anywhere else in south west England, or in any of the orchards that grow Dabinett from New York State to Kent, the flavours and textures it would lend to a cider would be different; would not carry the same balance of tannin with body and fruit ripeness.

A coffee bean grows high on a mountain in Yirgacheffe, in Ethiopia’s Sidamo region, 2,000 metres above sea level. Legally classified as Strictly High Grown (SHG), the cooling effects of altitude reduce the bean’s ripening down to a crawl, lengthening the window of its development, whilst maintaining access to dazzling sunlight throughout. Throughout that gradual creep the flavour compounds within the bean are developing, becoming more complex and robust, whilst the coolness of its climate promotes a distinct, refreshing acidity unique to this single part of the world. 

There is nothing exclusive to the ingredients grown in any of these three wildly different parts of the world. Chardonnay is perhaps the most famous white grape in existence; Dabinett produces more cider than probably any other apple; whilst the coffee bean varieties of Yirgacheffe can be found throughout Ethiopia and the rest of the coffee growing world.

What marks each of these plants out as special is their place. Their situation. Their terroir. It is the inimitable flavour their specific growing conditions lend the plant that distinguishes a Vaudésir Chardonnay, a Gammyoulands Dabinett and a Yirgacheffe coffee bean — and which elevates the drink they produce into something more complex and coveted than drinks made from the same ingredients and in the same way elsewhere.

Terroir is a plant’s thumbprint. It isn’t just a fancy name or a highfalutin concept. It is tangible and demonstrable — gardeners call it ‘gardening’, farmers call it ‘farming’. There is simply no neater word in English for the three-dimensional impact of soil, land and microclimate. No two terroirs are the same, and the individual characteristics of terroir cannot be faked or reproduced elsewhere or in another way. 

It applies to anything that grows, from a pear tree to a sugar cane to a grape vine to a barley plant, and when care is taken throughout the process, the flavours of terroir will always whisper back through a drink, whether the ingredient has been merely fermented or whether it has been roasted and boiled. And yes — even if the drink has been distilled.