What Is the Value of Terroir?

We examine the value of terroir--the set of special characteristics of a location that impart unique qualities to the wine produced. We conduct a hedonic analysis of vineyard sales in the Willamette Valley of Oregon to ascertain whether site attributes--such as slope, aspect, elevation, and soil types—or designated appellations are more important determinants of price. We find that prices are strongly determined by appellation designations, but not by specific site attributes. These results indicate that the concept of terroir matters economically, but that the reality of terroir--as proxied by locational attributes--is not significant.