Terroir in View of Bibliometrics

Abstract

This study aimed to perform a bibliometric analysis of terroir and explore its conceptual horizons. Advancements in terroir research until 2022 were investigated using the Scopus database, R, and VOSviewer. Out of the 907 results, the most prevalent document types were articles (771) and reviews (70). The annual growth rate of published manuscripts in this field was 7.8%. The research on terroir encompassed a wide range of disciplines, with significant contributions from Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Social Sciences, Environmental Science, Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology. Through keyword analysis, the study identified the most frequently occurring terms in titles, abstracts, and keywords fields, including ‘terroir’, ‘wine’, ‘soil’, ‘wines’, ‘grape’, ‘analysis’, ‘vineyard’, ‘composition’, and ‘climate’. A trend topic analysis revealed that research in terroir primarily focused on the geo-ecology and physiology of grapes. Furthermore, considerable attention was given to methods and techniques related to the physicochemical, sensory, and microbial characterization of terroir and various aspects of the wine industry. Initially, the research in this domain was focused on terroir, authenticity, grapevine, soils, soil moisture, and wine quality. However, over time, the research agenda expanded to include topics such as food analysis, viticulture, wine, taste, sustainability, and climate change. New research areas emerged, including phenolic compounds, anthocyanin, phenols, sensory analysis, and precision agriculture—all of which became integral components of the scientific studies on terroir. Overall, this study provided valuable insights into the historical trends and current developments in terroir research, contributing to our understanding of the frontiers in this field.