🪨 Tuff

Tuff is a soft stone formed from compacted volcanic ash. It is light, porous and easy to work. It can be sawn and carved with ease, and it hardens in the air over time.

Tuff matters for wine in two ways. First, cellars and caves are often dug into it: inside it is always cool and damp, and the temperature stays even, which is good for storing wine. The cellars of Tokaj in Hungary are an example, with volcanic tuff slopes full of underground galleries. Second, volcanic soil with tuff gives vineyards drainage, so water does not stand and roots go deep.

Tuff is a volcanic rock, like pumice. Wines from such soils are often described as mineral. Many old European wineries still keep wine in tuff cellars cut centuries ago.