Whether you’re just finding your way into dry red wine, or are a connoisseur of all styles, Pinot Noir is the grape with potential for you..
Potential for what?
Pinot Noir has the maximum potential for variance, potential for food pairings, potential for ageing, and the potential to put you in the poor house.
For over 1000 years this grape has been treasured, pampered, and experimented with due to it’s intoxicating aroma and depth.
What Is Pinot Noir?
Pinot Noir translates to “little black” in French, and is a small delicate grape that produces the most popular light bodied red wine in the world. Pinot Noir has been grown in Burgundy, France for well over a millennia.
It requires long slow growing periods with cool nights to create a perfect balance of sugar, alcohol, and acid.
Pinot Noir’s Characteristics:
- Light dry red wine
- Medium body
- Medium high acidity
- Low to moderate alcohol
- Aroma of red fruit, earth, flowers, and mushroom
Pinot Noir’s home in Burgundy is a very special place for many reasons. This is where both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir have their most focused and complete expressions.
Burgundy is broken up by very small estates, domains, plots, and rows.
The land has been passed down to family members in a tradition that leaves inheritances of very small amounts. Sometimes a member will only inherit a few rows of grapes.
The hope is that family will work together in future generations, but this is not always the case.
Most often grapes are tended to, harvested, and sold to “negociants” that blend and sell the red Burgundy under their label.
Trusted Examples Of Quality Negociants In Burgundy:
- Louis Jadot
- Drouhin
- Faiveley
- Bouchard Père et Fils
Why Is Pinot Noir From Burgundy So Expensive?
Burgundy has the perfect soil and weather for Pinot Noir but it’s a very small region trying to meet the needs of a large global demand, resulting in the most expensive wines on earth.
Individual grapes at the legendary Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are said to be worth $20 a piece and bottles fetch anywhere from a $1000 to $15,000 each!
It’s both because Pinot Noir is alluring, and Burgundy so expensive a region to grow, that winemakers looked to other parts of the globe to experiment with the grape.
The conditions to grow Pinot Noir require steady heat (that’s not overbearing) for ripening, and cool air exchange from a body of water to maintain it’s acidity.
Burgundy is roughly on the same longitude at 45-47 degrees like Oregon and Germany in the northern hemisphere, and New Zealand and Patagonia in the southern hemisphere.
These regions are ideal for Pinot Noir.
Primary Countries Where Pinot Noir Is Grown:
- France
- Germany
- Austria
- Italy
- New Zealand
- Argentina
- Chile
- Australia
- America
World Class Pinot Noir can be grown in California but the conditions need to be absolutely perfect.
A body of water needs to be nearby to help maintain cooler night time temperatures and provide fog to not over ripen the grape in the California sun.
Regions In California Suitable For Pinot Noir:
- Central Coast (Santa Barbara/ Santa Lucia Highlands)
- Sonoma Coast
- Sonoma Valley
- South Napa Valley
Pinot Noir grown in California (New World) has a slightly different expression than that of Pinot Noir from France (Old World).
(For more info on Old vs. New World click here)
Warmer weather Pinot from California results in less cherry and more raspberry and cola notes that tend to drown out dank earth, mushroom, and potting soil aromas found in cooler climate red Burgundy.
What Foods Pair Well With Pinot Noir?
Pinot Noir is a light red wine with nice acidity making it ideal for a wide range of foods from seafood, to mushrooms, and lean meats. Salmon is the perfect fish, and duck and chicken are the perfect terrestrial meats for Pinot Noir.
Pinot Noir is a wonderful wine for vegetarians and vegans as it is low in tannins and doesn’t require fat to balance it. This makes it a versatile red wine for vegetables.
Any mushroom dish will do well to bring out the delicious red fruit and earth of Pinot Noir.
French truffles have been enjoyed with Burgundy for centuries as both have incredible depth and similar dank aromas.
Fun Things To Know About Pinot Noir:
- Found as red still wine, rose, and blended for Champagne
- Related to Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier
- Can and should be aged (3-40 yrs depending on the vintage)
- Can go into a sleepy chapter with little expression between 2-10 yrs
- If you tilt a glass in front of letters or a book the wine’s clarity will allow words to be read and not distorted (unless the wine is un-fined)
- In the movie Sideways, the main character praises Pinot Noir and vehemently expresses his hate for Merlot. This resulted in higher Pinot sales globally and a loss in $400 million for merlot producers over the next decade.
Whatever style of Pinot Noir you try, or food you try it with, I know you’ll find an adventure and a memory. You never see cheap “$2 Buck Chuck” made with Pinot Noir and there’s a reason why. Pinot is special next to other grapes, and deserves to be experienced as such.
Happy Pinot discoveries! Cheers!
