One of the most prized grapes in the world, a heartbreaker, requiring patience and precision, but so worth the wait. Pinot Noir has exploded in popularity and hasn’t slowed down since. So, what is this widely popular and mysterious grape?
It’s Pinot Noir! Also known as Pinot Nero, Spätburgunder, Blauburgunder. Pinot Noir derives its name from the French words for “pine” and “black,” referring to the grape’s tightly clustered, pine-cone shaped bunches. Despite the French name, the wine grape is much older than France, dating back thousands of years to the Roman era. Pinot Noir is a very fickle grape. It is picky about where it is grown, it mutates easily (this is why we have the grape varieties of Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc) and it likes the temperature to be just right, plus it is susceptible to dozens of vine diseases, thus making Pinot Noir quite difficult to grow, hence its nickname, the heartbreak grape.
The History of Pinot Noir
The first descriptions of a grape with striking similarities to Pinot Noir date to the 1st century CE and come from Burgundy, its ancestral home. For centuries Pinot Noir has been cultivated in this corner of France with outstanding results. The Côte d’Or or golden slope in Burgundy is home to some of the most famous Pinot Noir vineyards, if not the most famous vineyard in the world, Romanée-Conti, in addition to La Tâche, Richebourg, and Le Chambertin. Pinot Noir has an allure that has transcended generations of winemakers and cemented itself as one of the most sought after and revered grapes for winemaking in the world. There is something romantic in the struggle of growing this grape and turning it into red wine, and the wine, in its many forms, is second to none in terms of depth, character, and complexity.
Notable Regions for Pinot Noir
Let’s explore the wine regions of the world where this picky grape thrives and what makes it taste so good.
Burgundy, France
This is where it all started, where it was perfected and until recently the only benchmark for quality. Every winemaker would ask, how does my Pinot Noir compare to the Burgundy region. While that benchmark status is still alive and well, many prolific regions now produce exceptional Pinot Noir that while different in style, may have broken free of the yolks of Burgundy’s influence. That being said, there is no better place to begin to understand this wine. Burgundy wine can be confusing, there are many, many vineyards, and over the centuries those vineyards have been carved into smaller and smaller sections as they have passed from generation to generation, but within that complexity, the nuances of Pinot Noir take shape as winemakers with vines just feet apart make wines strikingly different.
“The world’s most coveted Pinot Noir vines grow on a narrow, east-facing slope just South of Dijon. Burgundy is a very old wine region and was first tended by Cistercian monks in the Middle Ages. Here are some top villages and what to expect.
Gevrey-Chambertin: Nestled in the Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin is celebrated for its robust and structured Pinot Noir, influenced by the limestone-rich soils. Expect complex flavors of dark cherry, black currant, and a signature earthiness. Aging in oak barrels contributes layers of spice and can add a hint of smoke.
Chambolle-Musigny: Also located in the Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny is renowned for its elegant and perfumed Pinot Noir. The soils here are composed of limestone and clay, favoring wines with a charming blend of finesse and power.
Pommard: Situated in the Côte de Beaune, Pommard is recognized for its full-bodied and tannic Pinot Noir, distinct from its more delicate neighbors. The vineyards’ clay and iron-rich soil bestow a profound intensity to the wines. Expect robust flavors of black cherry, plum, and an earthy complexity. The use of oak in aging imparts a characteristic note of spice, and sometimes a touch of cocoa or coffee.”
Tasting Profile: Due to the tricky and crafty nature of this grape, wines made from vineyards just feet apart can taste remarkably different but that doesn’t mean there are through lines of flavor and temperament.
“The best red Burgundy wines, can be more focused on the fruity or savory end of the continuum, on crisp minerality, on perfumed floral notes or earthy hints of forest floor and mushrooms, tend to maintain a sense of balance… In other words, Burgundy is generally synonymous with elegance and a focus on the terroir, even in more powerful vintages.”
Willamette Valley, Oregon
The Willamette Valley has been sought after for its prime agricultural land for centuries. It was the reason thousands of immigrants trekked over plains and mountains or braved arduous bough journey’s to reach it. Since 1965 the valley has taken on new agricultural importance. It came with the planting of Pinot Noir by David Lett of Eyrie Vineyards and Chuck Coury of Charles Coury Vineyards (now David Hill). They had the, at the time, crazy notion to plant Pinot Noir in cooler climates, similar to those of Burgundy. It took time, but their bet paid off HUGE! 10 years later, David Lett put Oregon, the Willamette Valley and new world Pinot Noir on the map when his 1975 South Block Pinot Noir bested the greats of Burgundy in a blind tasting, called “Gault-Millau French Wine Olympiad. It placed The Eyrie Vineyards 1975 South Block Pinot Noir in their top ten in the Pinot noir category, resulting in the first international recognition of Oregon.” Now, 50 years after that fateful recognition, Oregon Pinot Noir is known around the world, for its complexity, character and exceptional quality.
Tasting Profile: “Oregon Pinot Noir is usually a few steps lighter in color and texture than California Pinot Noir; and it’s usually more tart. Expect cranberry, bing cherry red fruit flavors with secondary aromas of truffle mushrooms and sometimes even a green dandelion stem flavor. Oregon winesare often the closest in style to Burgundian Pinot Noir.”
Central Otago, New Zealand
“Pinot Noir grapes were first planted in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand in 1889 at the Mission Vineyards and subsequently in the Wairarapa by William Beetham. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that there was a resurgence of interest in the Pinot Noir grape. Nick Nobilo of Nobilo wines produced New Zealand’s first commercial Pinot Noir of the modern era in 1973. Plantings in Canterbury followed and then Wairarapa. Around this time a new clone named Abel became available. Malcolm Abel, for whom the clone was named was a Customs Officer at Auckland Airport. One day, he discovered a grape vine cutting inside the gumboot of a returning passenger.
Curious, he questioned the passenger and was told the cutting had been taken in secret from the legendary La Tache Vineyard in Domaine Romanee Conti.
This got Abel’s attention! Abel was in the process of establishing a vineyard in Kumeu, North of Auckland and he saw the value in keeping the cutting. So, rather than destroy it, he confiscated it, saw it through the correct quarantine process and planted it in his vineyard.”
“New Zealand’s (and the world’s) most southerly wine region, Central Otago, lies at the 45th parallel. No other wine region in New Zealand has shot to fame as quickly as Central Otago. Pinot Noir from this region is arguably becoming as equal in celebrity as Sauvignon Blanc is to Marlborough. Viticulture in the region dates back to the gold mining days of the region in the 1800s. Jean Desire Féraud, a French settler to the Central Otago region, established the first vineyard and wine business. The modern era of wine and Pinot Noir in Central Otago started in the 1970s and 1980s”
Tasting Profile: A resounding theme in New Zealand Pinot Noir, is that there is no shortage of fruit! Unlike the Pinots of Burgundy and California, these Pinots tend to be much fruiter but lighter in style, and lack the characteristic earthiness of France. “Black cherry, freeze-dried raspberry, wild thyme and undergrowth are common descriptors. There’s no shortage of fruit expression in Central Otago wines.” Due to the Central Otago being on the warmer side compared to other New Zealand regions there is a subsequent increase in the use of new oak, anywhere from 20-40%.
California
A massive leap in flavor and intensity, these are the lushest Pinot Noirs in the world. “Though Pinot Noir is one of the earliest grapes to bud out each spring, it was a late bloomer in the Sonoma County wine industry. Commercial wine production began here in the 1850s, and though Burgundy’s favorite variety was a minor player for decades, it wasn’t until long after the end of Prohibition that experimentally-minded grape growers and pioneering winemakers teamed up to create a Pinot Noir renaissance… Today, Sonoma County is internationally recognized as the leading producer of Pinot Noir among California counties. From cool, foggy Carneros and the Russian River Valley to the far-flung Sonoma Coast, Pinot Noir plantings represent over 20% of the county’s total vineyard acres— just a bit more real estate than Cabernet Sauvignon, and more than double that of Zinfandel.”
Tasting Profile: “Pinot Noir is prized for its eclectic aromatic profile, which may run from fresh strawberry to dried potpourri, wet hay, earth, mushroom, and forest floor, while its flavors may evoke anything from tangy, red berry fruit to cherry cola.
Although Pinot Noir may vary in hue from light strawberry to deep blueberry, color is no indication of quality. It may be tannic, but on an entirely different order than the show-stopping tannins of a Cabernet Sauvignon, and oak barrels add spice but rarely dominate Pinot Noir wines.”
Pinot Noir Food Pairings
The Pinot Noir grape variety is a crowd pleaser and a fantastic wine to pair with a wide variety of food. It is a wonderful option for wine and cheese pairing. It is also one of the very few red wines you can pair expertly with seafood. It pairs superbly with Salmon and even stands up to a richer, gamier meat like duck or rabbit. “Duck is a classic dish to pair with Pinot Noir. The acidity in Pinot will cut through the fat and gamey flavors of duck. If you spice the duck, it will bring out all the nuanced flavors in Pinot Noir.
Any time you can have an earthy-fatty dish using mushrooms it will always highlight the fruitiness of Pinot Noir.”
Even with its versatility, one of our favorite pairings for Pinot Noir is with good company. When hosting a group of people or out to dinner where everyone orders different dishes, Pinot Noir is a great choice to pair with any dish.
Meats: Classic French pairings include boeuf Bourguignon and coq au vin, even the more rustic dish or Cassoulet would pair nicely with a more robust style of Pinot Noir.
Cheeses: Hard cheese with mild flavor pair well, but the best pairings include Gruyère, Swiss, Brie and Provolone. When in doubt, just remember, the funkier the wine, the funkier the cheese.
Vegetarian dishes: Anything with mushrooms will compliment Pinot Noir delightfully. In addition, a risotto or Pasta alla Norma will pair nicely with lighter more earthy styles of Pinot Noir. Don’t forget truffles, while they are pungent, they are a remarkable treat and pairing for Pinot Noir, especially when shaved on top of pasta.
Experience Pinot Noir with Bonterra
Bonterra wine is made at our organic winery, and our Pinot Noir wine is made with delicious, California-grown Pinot Noir grapes. Discover our lineup of delicious wines, and join our wine club for exclusive offers and releases. Explore the world of the unique grape variety that is Pinot Noir when you buy wine online with Bonterra.
