🌿 Vineyard terraces

Vineyard terraces are steps on a steep slope held by stone walls. On these steps vines can be planted where it would be impossible on a bare slope: water and soil would wash downhill.

Terraces were built over centuries, often by hand. The stone walls hold soil, hold back water and store heat that they return to the vine at night. Work on terraces is hard, and machines often cannot pass, so almost everything is done by hand. For this reason wine from such vineyards costs more.

Examples include the Douro valley in Portugal, especially the Upper Douro, where slopes are covered with steps on schist; the Lavaux area in Switzerland above Lake Geneva; and Cinque Terre in Italy, where terraces descend to the sea. Vineyard terraces belong to the idea of the slope as a way of using it. Some of these places are on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Terraces also decorate the landscape, attract visitors and help prevent erosion.