Dig in the dirt, live longer.

The company we keep is as important as the bottles we share.

I’ve recently become very interested in gardening. The hobby’s appeal has evaded me for many years. But after discovering its innumerable health benefits, I’ve become fascinated with the notion of digging in the dirt.

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In a recent Wine Enthusiast podcast about Blue Zones, areas of the world where people have longer life expectancies, Dan Buettner credits the practice of gardening as one of the many reasons people are living some of the longest, happiest lives on the planet. (He also mentions consuming a little wine almost daily can bring a similar benefit, which is a theory I heartily support.)

Another study reads that touching earth, or “grounding,” as the wellness community calls it, has been shown to improve sleep, reduce pain, reduce stress, speed wound healing and more in a laundry list of health advantages associated with being involved with dirt daily. So, is it any surprise that we are fascinated by the dirt from which our vines are grown? It comes back to what these studies show—the Earth, and its elements, are inherently connected to us all.

Humans seem to think they’re above their underlying relationship with agriculture. Many of us live in cities away from greenery. We take pride in our aversion to camping and hiking and prefer being pampered in cozy homes. But science tells us otherwise. Research suggests that perhaps it’s a part of our DNA to be obsessed with things that come out of the ground.

And isn’t that what defines terroir? Terroir is the expression of earth and elements translated into wine. It’s as if we’re enjoying the thing our “lizard brains” crave most in our glasses— a connection to the ground beneath us. Viticulture is the act of giving dirt its best chance at expressing a sense of place purely through the fruit it bears.

The trending fascination with volcanic soil is an easy entry to fall in love with terroir. What’s cooler than an exploding volcano? Fire? Molten rocks? Even my 6-year-old could tell you that’s rad as an avid fan of “the floor is lava.” So, let’s take a journey through this rock star of the terroir universe—pun intended. I hope it reconnects you to the earth that you so deeply crave, even if you don’t want to admit it. —Jacqueline Strum, Editor & Publisher, WE Media