FEATURE

Feature
Wine, beer and whisky: the role of geology
Alex Maltman
Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth

Does geology affect the tastes of wine, beer and whisky? And if so, how and by how much in each case?

1. Wine
A connection between geology and wine? Many wine writings nurture the idea attractive, of course, to geologists but sadly the reality is unclear. The few attempts to analyse exactly how a connection might operate have met a surprising lack of real data and have triggered vigorous, sometimes passionate, disagreements. At one extreme of opinion, not only does geology underpin the success of vineyards but the very taste of the finished wine echoes the bedrock. Thus winetasters notes on flavours are sprinkled with words such as stony, earthy and mineralic (yes, and minerally). One advocate of this view can taste volcanic ash in wine from near Vesuvius; another not only detects the often-mentioned flinty taste of the white wine from Chablis, an area underlain by marine sedimentary rocks (Fig. 1), but also a warm iodine fragrance that confirms that the sea definitely covered Chablis a long time ago. It is a seductive mental jump to suppose that somehow flavours are being communicated between bedrock and wine. Unfortunately, no-one knows how this can actually happen. Even the uptake of inorganic ions from soil into vine roots is poorly understood, let alone flavourings that can persist into the finished wine. So at the other extreme, the whole idea is dismissed as mere fancy. Providing the grape is picked when ripe, this opposing argument would run, then apart from the variety of grape virtually all the taste characteristics arise during the processes of winemaking. In other words, with a given ripe grape variety, the taste is determined in the winery and not the vineyard. France is the heartland of a supposed relationship between an areas wines and local factors such as its geology, and European law is increasingly enshrining the idea. Thus champagne can only be made in the Champagne area of France, so the argument goes, because the particular mix of physical conditions

there encompassed by the much argued term terroir cannot be replicated anywhere else. Indeed, the European Union is busy extending the principle to a host of other agricultural products, such as cheese, butter and blackcurrants. Opponents of the concept suspect a Gallic conspiracy designed simply to thwart attempts to copy established French products elsewhere. One published article even refers to the supposed connection as terroir trickery; another talks of viticultural voodoo! Somewhere between these polarized convictions are views that, assuming the overall climate is suitable, the conditions in which a vine grows are likely to influence the ripening pattern of the grapes, and hence the juice and the overall nature of the finished wine body, mouth-feel, sugar-acidity balance, etc. Therefore, geology, through the physiography of a vineyard and its soil, influences the performance of the vines and hence, indirectly, the character of the wine, if not the flavour. Physiography and soil Differential erosion of bedrock geology determines the form of hillsides and valley floors across which vineyards spread, and hence the meso-climate of the sites. Just as other fruits, vines have to flower, be pollinated and set the fruit: air temperatures and wind conditions are critical at these stages. Frost has to be avoided at all costs. Particularly important is the thermal belt along a hillslope, below the cold air stationed over the hilltop but above the cold layer spread over the valley floor. Altitude affects the overall air temperature, physiography influences windflow, and the aspect of a hillslope its azimuth and gradient influences the amount of radiant heat received from the sun (Fig. 1), all crucial during fruitset and ripening. Near-surface soil has a major influence on vine growth as only the deepest roots might reach bedrock.

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Fig. 1. Cross-section of the Chablis district, France, showing the possible influence of geology on vineyard physiography and soils. At a, river erosion of relatively soft limestones has led to a wide valley prone to spring frosts, and consequently few Chablis vineyards. At b and c, bedrock of harder marly limestones, clayey marls and shell-beds (chiefly Exogyra virgule) gives hillslopes, with a beneficial soil of colluvial clay and limestone clasts. The hillslopes were shaped in Quaternary periglacial conditions: at b, facing NE, the slope has undergone greater erosion and is hence shallower than at c. It yields good (so-called Premier Cru) wines. At c, what officials deem the best Chablis wines (Grand Cru) are produced on a slope that faces SW and is steeper, thus receiving greater solar heat. (The inset shows how radiant heat increases with greater slope and sunray-incidence angles. I is a radiation intensity constant). The colluvial cover reaches thicknesses up to 2 m and contains white (limestone) pebbles, enhancing its reflectivity. A cliff formed in the overlying limestone helps protect the slope from cold northerly winds. The plateau form of the hilltop (d) follows the horizontal bedrock strata and hence receives less radiant heat. The soil lacks colluvium and is thin (< 0.3 m), consequently yielding wines of only Petit Chablis official status.

However, bedrock geology still has a role, as it will control the nature of the soil. In many famous vineyards, this is distinctly stony, quite unlike the normal view of agricultural soil. Its chemistry (e.g. N, K and Ca content) affects vine growth, just as with any other crop, although with manuring, fertilization, etc. this in most cases is now artificially managed. The clay mineral content influences nutrient retention and the take-up of ions from the soil, especially at shallow depths. The mineralogy and clast content determine the soils colour and albedo, and hence the storage and re-radiation of warmth, especially important factors at night-time. Free drainage is all important and is primarily governed by soil porosity and permeability, together with slope angle. The usual il-

lustration of all this is the Burgundy area of France (e.g. Fig. 2). Why, then, do some winemakers dismiss such geological factors, or at best deem them trivial? In general, the most fervent opposing voices are from the New World of winemaking, newly successful wineproducing areas such as New Zealand, Australia and

Fig. 2. a Generalized cross-section of the hill of Corton, Burgundy, showing its much-cited correlation between wine quality and geology. Bedrock has been supposed to play a role in the aromas and flavours of the wines, but any demonstrable link seems to be through soil and physiography, and hence meso-climate. In map view (b), the vineyards are related not to the outcrop pattern of bedrock (following topgraphic contours) but to soil, slope position and aspect. As at Chablis (Fig. 1), better wines come from the mid-slopes, here covered by colluvial calcareous soils (rendzines), which are reflective and well drained. The most prestigious vineyards (Corton Charemagne) lie on the warmer S and SW-facing slopes.

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California. Part of the reason for the dichotomy of views must lie in the very suddenness with which such areas have ascended to fame; there has simply been insufficient time to test the ideas. Moreover, New World winemaking has been characterized by a more scientific, technological approach (from which the Old World is now learning much), and until recently such efforts have been directed more toward winemaking procedures than efforts in the vineyard. Many such wineries are large, grow several grape varieties and make a whole range of wines in some cases including the products of Bordeaux, the Rhone, Chianti and the Rhine valley coming from a single district! Influences of particular factors are therefore bound to be blurred and will need time to evaluate. Moreover, some of the greatest New World wines are actually skilful blends, of no closely identifiable provenance. These are all generalizations. There are numerous examples in the New World where some geological influence seems clear, and it may be significant that they tend to be in the more evolved districts, often specialising in a particular style of wine. Well-known examples include the Coonawarra district of Australia, the Niagara Peninsula, Canada, and the Diamond Creek and Rutherford Bench areas of Napa Valley, California. Other explanations for the link being rejected concern the geology itself. First, it has to be said that

discussions in the popular literature are replete with geological misunderstandings and mistakes that can hardly help in clarifying things. Second, it so happens that many major New World wine-producing districts are sited on wide, flat valley floors rather than hillsides. Such areas are underlain by thick, mixed alluvial deposits with complex soils, and hence minimal influence from the bedrock substrate. The Central Valley of California, for example, including the vineyards of the University of California at Davis where much modern viticultural research has been carried out, has topsoil over 70 m deep. Moreover, such areas tend to be heavily irrigated and chemically treated, with known drainage variations simply being allowed for in the watering programme. Third, many antagonists voices are raised from wineries that are underlain by a complex, intricate geology. If there is some connection between bedrock and grapes, it is going to be far simpler to demonstrate in a setting such as the even, gently dipping strata of Burgundy (Fig. 2) than the collage of fault-bounded slivers that dominates the plate-boundary setting of many of the California vinegrowing regions (Fig. 3). Other geological influences Many consumers have come to believe that all wines (and beers, for that matter) have not only to be clear

Fig. 3. Schematic crosssection, showing the geology of Sonoma County, California, (based on a drawing by Terry Wright). He has noted some correspondence between soil chemistry and vine growth but, in contrast with the Chablis and Burgundy examples (Figs 1 and 2), most wineries are underlain by an intricate geology and each produces a range of red and white wines, thus blurring any geology-wine links. Official viticultural areas are named in italics; the boundaries relate little to the underlying geology.

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but must be brilliant. Most wine and beer should fall clear naturally, but many processors choose to filter and fine their products, despite the risk of removing flavour components. Geological materials are widely used. Filtering commonly no longer involves asbestos but uses powdered diatomite, often referred to in the trade as kieselguhr, capitalizing on its high permeability and the inertness of the fine grains of silica. Important sources are the Palaeogene lake deposits in NW Denmark and N Germany, and the upper Miocene Lower Pliocene marine Monterey Formation around Lompoc, California. Fining can involve centrifuging and/or chilling, but commonly uses the swelling clay material known as bentonite. Slurries of bentonite are suspended in the wine or beer to absorb the hazeforming compounds, before the particles settle out naturally. The most important sources of bentonite are around the Black Hills of W South Dakota and E Wyoming, USA. Here, volcanic ash layers in the Cretaceous Mowry and Belle Fourche shale formations have been altered and hydrated, mainly to montmorillonite. Incidentally, statements on bottles of wine or beer that the contents are suitable for vegetarians are simply implying that any clarification employed such inorganic agents rather than the alternatives which are of animal origin. Finally, if geology is defined to include extraterrestrial bodies, it has to be mentioned that an increasing number of farmers, and especially grape growers, are planning their tasks according to lunar and planetary phases. Despite its mystic, New Age ring, such biodynamic methods are passionately defended, and there is some supporting scientific evidence. It is the case that some farmers, whose very livelihoods depend on the success of their crops, are convinced that improved harvests result from their taking the extra time and expense to work according to these extraterrestrial influences.

juice, beer consists predominantly of water, and this in most cases has been drawn directly from the ground. The geology of the aquifer directly affects the chemistry of the brewing water and this demonstrably influences the brewing process and the character and, yes, the taste of the finished beer. Historically, brewers learned empirically of suitable waters, but today the interplay between hydrochemistry and brewing is the subject of a vast technical literature. Water in brewing The three central steps in brewing are the steeping of malted barley and other cereals in hot water in order to extract organic compounds a stage known as mashing boiling the resulting liquid with hops, and fermenting with yeast. The chemistry of the water influences all three stages, but especially the mashing. Here, where pale (i.e. unroasted) malted grains are used, their rich cocktail of proteins, starches and complex sugars is converted by enzymes into simpler, fermentable forms. The actual reactions are chiefly governed by the temperature and acidity (pH) of the mixture. Temperature is, of course, easily controlled, but the acidity is a more challenging matter. Natural brewing water tends to be neutral or slightly alkaline (pH > 7), owing to the presence of ions such as Ca, Mg, HCO3 and CO3. However, speedy, efficient mashing needs a pH of around 55.5, so adjustments to the acidity are needed not a straightforward prospect with all the various ions involved. To the rescue, however, come roasted malts, which contain, among other things, natural phosphates that help neutralise the effect of high HCO3 concentrations. The effect is greater with higher degrees of roast; amber malt reduces pH less than chocolate malt. Highly roasted, black malt shifts acidity most. Therefore, introducing roasted malts as appropriate can increase acidity into the desirable range. At the upper limit of the pH range, the mashing will leave unfermentable products, leading to a grainier taste, accentuated by the fact that normally fewer hops can be used in such water. These days, technology and hydrochemical knowledge allow brewers to alter the water chemistry as required, but historically, hard waters were undesirable for brewing. They were simply too alkaline for efficient mashing and the CO3 content inhibited enzyme activity. Attempts at chemical adjustments introduced off-flavours. On the other hand, soft waters mashed well, and if they contained significant SO4 the beer acquired an unrivalled taste and bite, together with a stability such that it could withstand being transported. Breweries and beer styles The groundwater at Burton-on-Trent is often deemed

2. Beer
The influence of geology on beer is much less subtle than on wine. This difference comes about because, whereas wine is almost entirely the product of grape
Table 1. Representative ionic concentrations (averaged from several literature sources), in parts per million, of brewing waters mentioned in the text. Burton Ca Mg Na SO4 Cl CO3 282 43 28 720 37 171 Edinburgh 110 24 35 110 45 170 Pilzen 7 2 2 5 5 12 Fort Collins 13 2 2 5 5 14 Munich 75 18 6 10 2 152 Dublin 80 19 1 5 1 164 London 90 4 24 5 1 156

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to be an ideal brewing water as it has a naturally balanced blend of beneficial ions that gives an acidity perfect for brewing pale ales (Table 1). While the Ca content is very high, it is largely related to an unusually high SO4 content so desirable in pale ales rather than CO3. The gypsum in the underlying evaporitic bedrock (Fig. 4) is the key. In fact, wells penetrating the Triassic sandstones encounter SO4 levels as high as 900 p.p.m. As brewing became increasingly centralized during Victorian times, and the British Empire grew, it transpired that this unusually high SO4 content in beers from Burton gave a stability which allowed the beer to be exported, and shipped even as far as India. Hence the styles known as export ales and India pale ales were born in Burton (and later developed in Edinburgh, which also enjoys high SO4 waters). The high SO4 content also contributes a slight sulphury nose, which to some drinkers has been the desirable hallmark of Burton beers (although to others its memorable characteristic is the Epsom salts laxative effect!). A comparable situation exists at Tadcaster, Yorkshire, but based on the very hard but sulphate-rich waters from the underlying Magnesian Limestone. It is no accident that this small country town boasts three major breweries. Beer making changed dramatically in the mid19th century, with improvements in malting techniques and brewing technology. Pale malts could be more efficiently mashed and, with the advent of refrigeration, it became possible to ferment and store the brew at low temperatures in order to enhance its clean taste. Thus lager was born. Brewers at Pilsen, Czech Republic, found that their low-mineral-content water was ideally suited to this delicate new style. The soft water also allowed the bold use of distinctive aromatic hops: the product became known as pils, or pilsener. The beer became an inspiration to pretenders the world over. Pilsen is located partly on Stephanian (Upper Carboniferous) sandstones and partly on Upper Proterozoic metamorphic rocks from which the water was drawn. These pelites and psammites are intrinsically impermeable, but sufficiently fissured to give some storage capacity with minimal interaction between the aquifer and the wa-

ter. Consequently, the water has only a little hardness, which tends to be offset anyway by a modicum of CaSO4. Other ions that can bedevil brewing waters, such as K and Cl, are sparse. The water at Budwar, 150 km to the SE and home of the original Budweiser brewery, was even softer, from a 300 m deep artesian well in fractured, older Proterozoic gneisses and migmatites. American brews boasting Rocky Mountain water sources have similarly low ionic values although with 13 p.p.m. Ca and 14 p.p.m. CO3, a little more hardness and these, too, have prompted the production of light, clean tasting beers. Both the heavily mineralized and flavourful waters of Burton and the relatively pure and delicate waters of places like Pilsen have hardness and alkalinity in a natural balance that allows efficient mashing with pale malts. Consider, however, those brewing centres with waters lacking such balance. For example, Munich does not, strictly speaking, have good brewing water (Table 1). Moreover, a celebrated German law forbids chemical additions to brewing water (although boiling would be permitted and would reduce the elevated temporary HCO3 hardness); so pale-beer production, historically, had to involve relatively inefficient mashing. Brewing dark beers, however, is a different matter, with the roasted malts able to increase acidity into an acceptable range. Munich breweries chiefly drew their water from the Pleistocene fluviatile and glacio-fluvial sands and gravels which, deriving from the nearby calcareous rocks of the Alps, give a high CO3 content and high alkalinity. This is why Munich became best known for its dark beers. Even the paler lagers produced today have a richer taste than, say, pilseners, partly because of the unfermented compounds induced by the relatively alkaline water. Perhaps the extreme case of using heavily roasted, high-phosphate malts to reduce the pH levels of mashing water to acceptable levels is in Dublin. The city is located on Middle Carboniferous Limestone and its water is high in CO3, as high as at Burton-on-Trent but much weaker in Ca. Thus the water is hard and alkaline, giving a distinctive mouth-feel, and with a lot of buffering capacity. However, the use of very

Fig. 4. Schematic geological cross-section of the Burtonon-Trent district, England. Breweries obtain water from both bedrock and surficial deposits, but both are gypsiferous and rich in SO4 and other ions.

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dark roasted malts lowers the mash pH adequately, and this has led to the famed black stouts of Dublin. The mashing is still relatively inefficient, but the unconverted, non-fermentable material gives a grainy, nutrient-rich beer after all, Guinness did once promote the notion that its product is good for you. A common tale is that Guinness brewed at its London brewery is inferior, through crucially lacking water from the River Liffey, on which the Dublin brewery stands. Yet the operations in both places use hard, limestone-derived water. (Actually, the Dublin brewing water is not taken from the Liffey but from the Grand Canal, which has several inputs, all of which derive from Lower Carboniferous Limestone. The chief source is at the ecologically important Pollardstown Fen, near Newbridge, Co. Kildare, fed by over 40 springs in the limestone.) The story may, however, contain some truth. The London water is drawn from the Chalk, and hence has different contents of Mg, Cl, etc., which are likely to influence the flavour profile. In addition, the greater amounts of Na and K at London would be expected to enhance perceived sweetness. In fact, it is this alkaline chemistry of London groundwater that gave rise to the sweet porters and stouts (involving pH-reducing dark malts) historically associated with that city. Other geological influences Besides water, the two primary constituents of beer are cereals and flavourings from hops. In a way, geology has some influence on both. A variety of cereals is used in beer making these days, but most highly regarded beers are centred on barley. Areas suitable for barley growing are very largely dictated by overall climatic and agro-economic factors, but geological conditions can affect growth in detail. For example, barley growing on soils overlying Gault Clay performs differently from that on Lower Greensand soils. Much more explicitly, hop-growers, rather like winemakers, tend to advertise that soil enhances the aroma of their particular hops the minerally character of Kent Fuggles, for example. However, it seems clear that the role of geology here is in enabling the development of deep, free-draining soils, with some access to water. Water retention at depth is particularly useful during the drier times of summer as the water is mainly taken up during the second half of the growing period, after flowering and during development of the aromatic hop cones. Such conditions are provided by the deep, stratified soils overlying the thick Tertiary molasses of the Wolznach, Hallertau, region of Germany. In fact, the proximity of this ideal hop-growing area to Munich may have been the trigger for establishing the city as a brewing centre, hops being awkward to convey over

long distances. Moreover, modern machinery can work the flat, fertile hopfields at Hallertau, which has now become pre-eminent outside the USA. Over 70% of American hops are now grown on the deep alluvial soils of the Yakima and Williamette Valleys of Washington and Oregon. These are volcanic in nature, deriving from the nearby Cascade volcanic uplands. Clay layers occur at depth in some places, but the soils are loose and very free-draining, such that sophisticated irrigation systems are now used. The third important area in the USA is Treasure Valley, near Boise, Idaho, which provides hops for AnheuserBusch, the worlds largest brewery concern. This area, too, has thick fertile volcanic soils, here derived from the basalts of the Snake River volcanic plateau. Hop growing in the British Isles long ago withdrew to SE England and the SW Midlands, largely for a variety of socio-economic and infrastructure reasons. However, deep and suitably well-drained soils occur in both regions for example, in Kent where Gault Clay is overlain by river gravels and loams. In the Frome and Teme river valleys of the Ledbury Bromyard district, soils derived from the underlying Lower Old Red Sandstone are moist, while providing sufficient depth and drainage. As with wine, bedrock geology influences the physiography of the land and hence the meso-climate and the all-important aroma profile of the ripe hops. In a humid country like the UK, areas with still, damp air have to be avoided because hops are very prone to mildew, one reason why SE England has remained relatively important. The SW Midlands, lying in the rain shadow of the Welsh Hills, also has sufficiently dry, draughty air.

3. Whisky
Many a geologist enjoys a glass of malt, not least by knowing that geology has influenced its character through the water that is all-important to whisky. At least, thats what the marketing tells us. For in contrast with its unsung role in beer, the importance of water is grandly trumpeted in many an advertisement for whisky. And why not? Water is involved at all stages of whisky production; even after distilling and ageing, the finished spirit is typically 60% water. And although, just like beer, whisky is essentially made from malted cereals fermented in water, hops are rarely involved, so the taste-role of water might be expected to be promoted even more. Closer scrutiny, however, suggests that while crystal waters tumbling from granite mountains make good advertising copy, they are actually of little significance to the taste of whisky. Moreover, the role of geology is lessened because many distillery water sources are surficial, rather than drawn directly from an underground aquifer. Certainly a good supply of water is paramount

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in distilling operations, but factors such as the cereals used, the use of peat smoke during the malting (in the case of Scotch whisky), the way the distillation is conducted, and the maturation practice, all seem to have a far greater influence on the taste profile of a whisky than does the water that is used. Sadly, the role of geology and water in all this seems to be much less than marketing would have us believe. Water in whisky The bulk of the worlds whisky is manufactured in large plants, many of which produce a range of styles in the one factory. The enormous operations in Japan and Canada are examples, together with the two major distillery complexes in Ireland. The chemistry of the water supply is adjusted in these plants as needed; its actual make-up is probably negligible anyway. Thus, although several countries produce vast amounts of these kinds of whisky superbly suited to their purpose in the present context the focus has to be on Scotland and the Eastern USA, and the handmade, characterful single products of small distilleries, many of long pedigree. It is back in their histories that we find the reasons for the locations of these distilleries, and without question water supply was crucial. Take, for example, the Scottish Highlands. The important thing was a consistent, reliable source flowing all summer, not frozen in winter of consistently drinkable, and hence usable, water (= pure in advertising speak). Taxation of Scotch whisky drove illicit production to secret locations, and the licensing of distilleries in the 1823 Excise Act allowed only the best distilleries ultimately to survive only those which, among everything else, had a good water supply. In many cases, the water happened to be slightly acid, and soft. Now the notion has developed that the water must be soft for quality distilling. Indeed, advertisements for several Scottish distilleries proclaim the virtues of the softness of their water supply. The involvement of granite is also often lauded, although in fact most distilleries in Scotland are sited away from granite. The water for many renowned Speyside distilleries, for example, flows over, and to some extent through, quartzite and a whole range of other metamorphic rocks, although it is still true that the resulting waters are soft. But is this softness important? Some Speyside whiskies with the characteristic taste profile of the district involve water affected by calcareous rocks such as Dalradian limestones, and some distilleries in NE Scotland and Orkney use significantly hard water, drawn from calcareous Old Red Sandstone. Indeed, one very well known and acclaimed distillery in the north-east vaunts the exceptionally hard nature of its water. The inconsistency is underlined by distilleries in Kentucky and Tennessee, where the US industry is

concentrated. The region has close historical parallels with Scotland, and where a good water supply has been equally crucial for successful distilling, but where the water happens to be high in HCO3 and alkaline. Almost all the distilleries are sited on Ordovician limestones, yielding waters of pH as high as 7.58. And their advertising celebrates the resulting hardness! A question arises, recalling the brewing process, of how effective mashing can be attained with these hard waters, as roasted, dark, grains are traditionally not used in whisky production. The answer lies largely in the kinds of cereals employed. A mix of grains different from Scotland is typical (reflecting the different growing conditions in the USA) and these provide micro-organisms capable of reducing the pH of the mash to suitable levels. For example, lactobacilli in the grains soon yield sufficient lactic acid to reduce the pH value, especially as these waters do not tend to be well buffered. Moreover, portions of the grain are used a second time the so-called sourmash technique in order to consolidate the effect. In fact, American distillers argue that the high pH of their waters is beneficial, with the Ca and Mg content (and low Fe) enhancing yeast metabolism, and prompting undesirable transition metals to form hydroxides and precipitate out. Much US advertising praises the iron-free water (in contrast to some Scotch writings which suggest that iron from the peat is beneficial). Thus American whiskeys are made from different grains from Scotch and hence, together with different distilling and, especially, maturation practices, the product differs greatly in taste. In both cases, any direct flavouring role of water is left at best very indirect. But what about the water that is added after distillation, to dilute the spirit for cask maturing and finally for bottling? Obviously local water is used, so might not this directly influence the final taste? No because almost all distilleries, both in Scotland and the USA, carefully de-ionize their water at these stages, to avoid any disagreeable chemical reactions occurring. The fact is that if the taste of whisky is significantly affected at all by water, it arises if the consumer adds his own water to his sipping glass! Other geological influences The great distinctiveness of Scotch whisky is its peatiness, present to various degrees in different products. This derives largely from the peat smoke used in the malting process (rather than the often-cited peatiness of the water), and geology can have some influence on the availability of peat. Consider the Isle of Islay, for example. It is no coincidence that this home of the most heavily peated whiskies of all has exceptionally thick deposits of peat, which can therefore be lavishly employed. The peat has accumulated

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ules that lead to soils unusually rich in phosphate (2.4% and more). Not only does such very fertile soil favour the growth of corn, the cereal most widely used by the distilleries, but also of the indigenous white oaks that are preferred for cask-ageing the whiskey.

Conclusions
In summary, geology has various roles in these three celebrated drinks. In winemaking, although the influence of geology is much vaunted in certain quarters, it is hotly disputed in others. The role does seem to be indirect, through vineyard physiography and soil; beyond that the jury is still out. The connection, historically at least, between geology and the character of beer is much closer, through groundwater hydrochemistry, but greatly unsung. The role of water in the taste of whisky is, notwithstanding evocative advertising blurb, elusive. When you next pour a glass of your favourite malt whisky, think carefully if you are adding water. Unless it is de-ionised, it is at that stage that geology might be having its most direct affect on what you taste!

Suggestions for further reading

Fig. 5. Simplified geological map of SE Islay, Scotland. Not all the ridge-forming metabasite sheets are shown, and none that is wholly below the sea. Distilleries are named.

in extensive, flat, low-lying tracts, developed on an unusually soft bedrock for this part of the world: Dalradian pelites adjacent to a regionally important fault zone (Fig. 5). It is curious that of over 22 distilleries that once operated on Islay, over half were clustered along one coast of this irregular island. Three of them remain today the archetypal Islay whiskies (Fig. 5). Certainly the nearby peat-covered Dalradian quartzites endow suitable distilling waters, but perhaps some reasons for this concentration are historical and geological. In the days of illegal distilling in Scotland, a topography that allowed hidden sites and easy getaways must have been an advantage. How ideal must the conspicuous differential weathering of the SE coast of Islay have been in these respects, with resistant metabasite sheets intruded into relatively soft pelites, giving a multitude of sharp ridges hiding tiny glens, and a maze of offshore reefs and islets that conceded safe navigation only to those with local knowledge. In the USA, the limestones that yield the precious distilling waters also give rise to cave systems, providing ideal conditions for whiskey maturation. For example, the only whiskey distillery west of the Mississippi still operates on its original site, located on reliable Ca-rich springs, and it continues to age its products in caves developed in Carboniferous Limestone. Some limestones of Central Kentucky and Tennessee contain apatite fillings and phosphorite nod-

Wilson, J.E., 1998. Terroir: The Role of Geology, Climate and Culture in the Making of French Wines. Mitchell Beazley, London, 336pp. This handsome book beautifully portrays much detail on the geology of the classic French wine districts, but evades how the wine is affected, a shortcoming expounded in Hancock, J., 1999. Feature review, Journal of Wine Research, v.10, pp.4349. Lloyd, J.W., 1986. Hydrogeology and beer, Proceedings of the Geologists Association, v.97, pp.213 219. Unusually, this article explains the link between geology and some brewing waters. Cribb, S. & Cribb, J. 1998. Whisky on the Rocks, British Geological Survey, 73pp. Uses the locations of whisky distilleries to introduce very simply the geology of Scotland, although the nature of the link is little discussed.

Volcanism of a sort
For the not so subtly named Etna is a woman operating under rigorous and agonising self-discipline. Volcanic passions exist beneath her submissive faade. Like Hawthornes novel The Scarlet Letter, this is a story of passion within a framework of restraint. Joanne Harris, in a review of Anita Shreves new novel All He Ever Wanted in Waterstones Books Quarterly.

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