Pedological classification systems as carriers of functional information in terroir interpretation and the formalization of the SCORE-V factorial framework

• Soil classification systems are interpreted as carriers of functional pedological information. • Taxonomic criteria are linked to soil functional attributes relevant to vine performance. • Terroir is formalised as a factorial system of interacting state factors. • The SCORE-V framework extends Jenny’s state-factor logic to terroir science. • SCORE-V provides a transferable conceptual structure for comparative terroir analysis. Understanding how soil variability contributes to wine composition remains a central challenge in terroir science. Although soil classification is widely applied in land evaluation and international data harmonization, its potential to encode functionally relevant edaphic conditions has been only marginally explored in viticultural contexts. This study investigates whether taxonomic descriptors from two major soil classification systems, WRB and Soil Taxonomy, capture pedological information that relates to wine metabolomic profiles. Eight vineyard soils from a Mediterranean wine district were characterized, classified, and linked to the chemical composition of the corresponding wines using multivariate statistical approaches. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) revealed that specific soil descriptors, particularly those associated with horizon architecture, physical behaviour, and secondary carbonate accumulation, account for structured variation in phenolic and aromatic composition. These results indicate that soil classification systems act as carriers of functional information, reflecting pedogenetic attributes that influence grapevine metabolism. In addition, the study introduces SCORE-V, a conceptual factorial model that formalizes the combined influence of Soil, Climate, Organisms, Relief, Ecosystem history, and Viti-vinicultural factors on wine composition. Inspired by Jenny’s state-factor model of soil formation, SCORE-V provides a theoretical scaffold for integrating pedological and viticultural knowledge into a unified interpretation of terroir. By bridging soil classification, metabolomics, and multivariate modelling, this work contributes to a process-based understanding of terroir and offers a foundation for future predictive frameworks supporting site-specific viticultural strategies.