Couldn't agree more.
Dale, I agree with what you say, but "sense of place" is one of those semi-mystical concepts that I alluded to in a previous posting. I don't, however, question its validity. I just don't see how it differs from saying that any wine reflects the characteristics of the grapes that it is made from and the grapes, in turn, reflect the conditions under which they were grown. This begs several questions, some of which were brought up subsequent posting in this thread.
When a wine is blended from different lots of wine made from grapes grown under different conditions, the concept of "terroir" (I use the term for the sake of brevity) becomes less and less meaningful. Indeed, one could argue that once a wine is blended from lots of wine made from grapes grown in different vineyards, the whole concept of terroir goes out the window. But without such blends, we wine lovers would be much the poorer. We would never have seen syrah blended with cabernet sauvignon (at least from the F____), nor would we have ever had the Super-Tuscans, to mention a couple of examples. I'm sure there are some that would not lament the unavailability of such wines but I am not among them.
When I think of terroir, I immediately think of Burgundy, as I think most people who think about such things do. Classification is by vineyard (as opposed to producer as is the case in Bordeaux), vineyards are small (thanks to Napoleon) and only one variety of grape is grown in each one. In other words, all of the things that motivate producers to emphasize terroir. Similar things can be said about some other wine producing regions of the world (Germany in particular) but Burgundy is tops in this regard. It doesn't hurt that grapes have been grown and wine has been made from them for hundreds of years in Burgundy. They've had a long time to figure things out there.
I disagree with other posters who say that soil type trumps everything else in defining terroir. Clearly, if two vineyards are adjacent to each other, have recognizably different soil types, are managed identically, and produce grapes with recognizably different characteristics, soil is undoubtedly the primary factor in that difference. But going beyond that narrow example, dozens of factors come into play, such as latitude, slope, wind, rainfall pattern, etc., etc.
Also, to say that terroir is more important than variety misses the point. In places where terroir is emphasized the most, only one variety of grape is grown (or, as is the case with Burgundy, one white variety and one red variety). I would agree, however, with those who point out the downside of emphasizing variety over everything else (as we do in the USA). My favorite American reds are those that are labeled simply "red table wine" but are flagship wines made by some of the top producers.
Vino