🪨 Basalt

Basalt is a dark volcanic rock. It is solidified lava that once flowed out of the earth and cooled quickly. It is grey or almost black, hard and heavy.

In vineyards basalt usually appears as stony soil. Over time the rock breaks into pieces and sand. Such soil is warm: dark stones collect heat by day and give it back to the vine at night. Water does not stand in it, and the vine grows on poor ground and yields few berries.

Basalt is one kind of volcanic soil. It is rich in minerals, so wines from such places are often called mineral, with a slightly salty or smoky note. Basalt sites exist in Germany, Hungary, Italy and on volcanic islands such as the Azores.

For a grower it is a soil with character: hard to work, but able to give concentrated, expressive wines.