Reading a few posts by @raphael bord on his blog Les bordures this evening, he mentions this text by Jean-Robert Pitte on the notion of terroir

He reminds us that Roger Dion taught: 'The role of the land in the crafting of a grand cru goes scarcely beyond that of raw material in the creation of a work of art.' Nicely put. Without mankind, terroir is nothing. Without customers to buy the product, terroir is not much either. Terroir is merely a blank page to be filled with fine penmanship. There is no other way forward than the pursuit of quality. Without it, terroir is an imposture. Food for thought. A special nod to label drinkers. Link to the text in the comments.