(Forbes) - The center of our planet—a distance which, as the crow flies, is about the same as taking a flight from Pittsburgh to Paris in France—is about 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit (6,100 degrees Celsius), or about as hot as the surface of the sun.

That heat is partially responsible for creating a veritable rodeo of tectonic forces near the earth’s crust. Massive ‘plates’–between 10 and 125 miles (15 and 200 kilometers) thick smash and submerge, collide and create mountain ranges over lengths of geologic time we cannot comprehend—millions of years in comparison to perhaps a century of human life.

The book Volcanic Wines—Salt, Grit and Power by John Szabo reasons that the very complexity of volcanic soils can help create distinct wines. Szabo is a Toronto based Master Sommelier and wine critic, and his book is published by Jacqui Small.