Wine on Paper. The Representation of Terroir in Wine Distribution Catalogues

This article examines how Italian fine wine distribution catalogues function as discursive and semiotic devices that co-produce the contemporary meaning of terroir rather than merely reflecting existing qualities. Drawing on discourse analysis of thirteen catalogues from Club Excellence distributors, the research identifies seven discursive frames through which terroir is articulated: pedoclimatic, technical-oenological, viticultural-agronomic, historical-cultural, family-generational, personal-authorial, and ethical-sustainable. The study demonstrates how these catalogues act as cultural intermediaries that selectively emphasize specific aspects of terroir, activate strategic connections between territory, producer, and wine, and legitimize particular rhetorics of origin. By analyzing these catalogues as sites of symbolic negotiation, the research reveals five representation models: naturalist-essentialist, technical-sensorial, ethical-value, authorial-narrative, and genealogical-traditional. These models reflect distinct narrative constructions of distinc- tion, understood as symbolic orientations or positions taken within the field, through which distributors articulate their portfolios and contribute to a symbolic geography that organizes classifications and differences in the wine market.