(Wines&Vines) - Exploring the topic “What Science Does and Doesn’t Tell Us about Terroir,” last week’s Terroir 2012 conference presented by the Robert Mondavi Institute (RMI) at the University of California, Davis, indicated that science shows terroir and wine character are more directly linked to climate than to soils or other vineyard site factors. A panel session “New Research on the Terroir of Wine” included scientists who discussed terroir in relation to their studies in geology and climatology, and winemakers who discussed terroir based on their experiences with grapegrowing and winemaking.