Pinot noir

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Pinot noir grapes at Chehalem Ridgecrest Vineyard, Newberg, Oregon

Pinot noir is a variety of Vitis vinifera, the red grape used commonly in winemaking. The name may also refer to wines produced predominantly from pinot noir grapes.

Pinot noir grapes are grown in diverse locations around the world, but the grape is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France. Production of pinot noir dates back over two thousand years.

It is widely considered to produce some of the finest wines in the world, but is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine.

Description

Pinot Noir vines at Clos de Bèze, Gervey-Chambertin, on the Côte d'Or, France

Pinot noir thrives in France's Burgundy region, particularly in the Côte d'Or which has produced some of the world's most celebrated wines for centuries. It is also planted in Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, California, South Africa, the Okanagan Valley in Canada, New Zealand and Chile, with some of the best regarded coming from California's Sonoma County with its Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast Appellations, as well as the Central Coast's Santa Lucia Highlands appellation; the Willamette Valley in Oregon; Martinborough, Waipara, and Central Otago in New Zealand.

The leaves of the pinot are approximately 12 cm (5 inches) in diameter, smaller than the cabernet sauvignon although larger than the syrah. The grape cluster is small and cylindrical, vaguely shaped like a pine cone. Some viticultural historians believe this shape may have given rise to the name.

The pinot noir tends to produce narrow trunks and branches. In the vineyard it is sensitive to light exposure, cropping levels (it must be low yielding), soil types and pruning techniques. In the winery it is sensitive to fermentation methods, yeast strains and is highly reflective of its terroir with different regions producing very different wines. Its thin skin makes it highly susceptible to bunch rot and other fungal diseases. The vines themselves are prone to downy mildew, leaf roll, and fanleaf. These complications have given the grape the reputation of being difficult to grow: Jancis Robinson calls pinot a "minx of a vine" and André Tchelistcheff declared that "God made cabernet sauvignon whereas the devil made pinot noir."

However, pinot wines are among the most popular in the world. Joel Fleischman of Vanity Fair describes pinot noir as "the most romantic of wines, with so voluptuous a perfume, so sweet an edge, and so powerful a punch that, like falling in love, they make the blood run hot and the soul wax embarrassingly poetic." Master Sommelier Madeline Triffon calls pinot "sex in a glass."

The tremendously broad range of bouquets, flavors, textures and impressions that pinot noir can produce sometimes confuses tasters. In the broadest terms, the wine tends to be of light to medium body with an aroma reminiscent of black cherry, raspberry or currant. The grape's color when young, often compared to that of garnet, is often much lighter than that of other red wines. This is because pinot noir has relatively small amounts of red pigment due to its thin skin.

It is also used in the production of Champagne (usually along with Chardonnay and Pinot meunier) and is planted in most of the world's wine growing regions for use in both still and sparkling wines. Pinot noir grown for dry table wines is generally low-yielding and often difficult to grow well. Pinot noir grown for use in sparkling wines (e.g. Champagne) is generally higher yielding.

In addition to being used for the production of sparkling and still red wine, pinot noir is also sometimes used for rosé still wines, and even vin gris white wines.

Pinot noir is very prone to mutation. The widely used varieties pinot gris, pinot blanc and pinot meunier are also relatives of pinot noir. As of 1990, there were some 46 clones of pinot noir widely used in France. This compared to only 32 clones of the much more widely planted cabernet sauvignon.

In South Africa, pinot noir has been crossed with the cinsaut grape to make a unique variety called pinotage.

Regional Production

Australia

Pinot Noir is produced in several wine growing areas of Australia, notably in Tasmania and Victoria.

Austria

In Austria, pinot noir is called Blauburgunder (literally Blue Burgundy) and produced in Burgenland and Lower Austria. Austrian Pinot noir wines are dry red wines similar in character to the red wines of Burgundy.

France

2 bottles of Red Burgundy from Gevrey-Chambertin, Côte de Nuits.

Pinot Noir has made France's Burgundy appellation famous, and vice-versa. Many wine historians, including John Winthrop Haeger and Roger Dion, believe that the association between pinot and Burgundy was the explicit strategy of Burgundy's Valois dukes. Roger Dion, in his thesis regarding Philip the Bold's role in promoting the spread of pinot noir, holds that the reputation of Beaune wines as "the finest in the world" was a propaganda triumph of Burgundy's Valois dukes. In any event, the worldwide archetype for pinot noir is that grown in Burgundy where it has been cultivated since 100 CE.

Burgundy's pinot noir produces great wines which can age very well in good years, developing floral flavours as they age, often reaching peak 15 or 20 years after the vintage. Many of the wines are produced in very small quantities and can be very expensive. Cheaper examples are available, and provided one is willing to sample, it is possible to experience the Burgundy character but at a more affordable level.

Today, the celebrated Côte d’Or region of Burgundy has about 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) of pinot noir. Most of the region's finest wines are produced from this area. The Côte Challonaise and Máconnais regions in southern Burgundy have another 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres).

In Jura département, across the river valley from Burgundy, the wines made from pinot noir are lighter.

In Champagne it used in blending with chardonnay and pinot meunier. It can also appear unblended, in which case it may be labelled blanc de noirs. The Champagne appellation has more pinot planted than any other area of France.

In Sancerre it is used to make red and rosé wines, much lighter in style that those of Burgundy, refreshing served chilled, especially in warmer years when they are less thin.

In Alsace it is generally used to make rosé wines. However, it is also used to make genuine red wines usually called pinot noir rouge, which are similar in character to red Burgundy and Beaujolais wines but are consumed chilled. Prominent examples are Rouge de Barr and Rouge d'Ottrott. Pinot noir rouge is the only red wine produced in Alsace.

Germany

In Germany it is called Spätburgunder, and is now the most widely planted red grape. Historically much German wine produced from pinot noir was pale, often rosé like the red wines of Alsace. However recently, despite the northerly climate, darker, richer reds have been produced, often barrel (barrique) aged, in regions such as Baden, Pfalz and Ahr. These are rarely exported and are often very expensive in Germany for the better examples. As "Rhenish", German Pinot Noir is mentioned several times in Shakesperean plays as a highly prized wine.

There is also a smaller-berried, lower yield variety called Frühburgunder which is grown in Franken and can produce very good wines. It is thought to be a mutant clone of pinot noir.

While it is the most common red grape in Germany, much of the Spätburgunder is used to produce Sekt, German sparkling wine, rather than red wine.

Italy

In Italy, where pinot noir is known as Pinot nero, it has traditionally been cultivated in the Alto Adige, Collio Goriziano, Oltrepò Pavese and Trentino regions to produce Burgundy style red wines. Cultivation of pinot noir in other regions of Italy, mostly since the 1980s has been challenging due to climate and soil conditions.

Switzerland

Pinot noir is a popular grape variety all over Switzerland. In German speaking regions of Switzerland it is often called Blauburgunder. Pinot noir wines are produced in Neuchâtel, Schaffhausen, St. Gallen and Bündner Herrschaft. Neuchâtel, which is across the border from Burgundy is renowned for its Pinot noir, a full bodied dry red wine. In Valais, Pinor noir is blended with Gamay to produce the well known Dôle.

Spain-Catalonian Autonomous Comunity

Recently pinot noir has been produced in small amounts in Lleida, in the catalan appellation "Costers del Segre" DO and the surrounding area. Insert non-formatted text here

New Zealand

Pinot Noir is a grape variety whose importance in New Zealand is greater than the weight of planting. Early in the modern wine industry (late 1970s early 1980s), the comparatively low annual sunshine hours to be found in NZ discouraged the planting of red varieties. But even at this time great hopes were had for Pinot Noir (see Romeo Bragato). Initial results were not promising for several reasons, including the mistaken planting of Gamay , and the limited number of Pinot Noir clones available for planting. After the strong results with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Hawkes Bay and Auckland regions, industry interest ebbed away from Pinot Noir.

One notable exception was the St Helena 1984 Pinot Noir from the Canterbury region. This led to the belief for a time that Canterbury might become the natural home for Pinot Noir in New Zealand. While the early excitement passed, the Canterbury region has witnessed the development of Pinot Noir as the dominant red variety. The sub-region Waipara has some interesting wines. Producers include Pegasus Bay, Waipara Springs and Omihi Hills.

The next region to excel with Pinot Noir was Martinborough on the southern end of the North Island. Several vineyards including Palliser Estate, Martinborough Vineyards, and Ata Rangi consistently produced interesting and increasingly complex wine from Pinot Noir at the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s.

At around this time the first plantings of Pinot Noir in Central Otago occurred in the Kawarau Gorge. Central Otago had a long (for New Zealand) history as a producer of quality stone fruit and particularly cherries. Significantly further south than all other wine regions in New Zealand, it had been overlooked despite a long history of grape growing. However, it benefited from being surrounded by mountain ranges which increased its temperature variations both between seasons and between night and day making the climate unusual in the typically maritime conditions in New Zealand.

The first vines were planted using holes blasted out of the north facing schist slopes of the region, creating difficult, highly marginal conditions. The first results coming in the mid to late 1990s excited the interest of British wine commentators, including Jancis Robinson and Oz Clarke. Not only did the wines have the distinctive acidity and abundant fruit of New Zealand wines, but they demonstrated a great deal of complexity, with aromas and flavours not common in New Zealand wine and normally associated with burgundian wine. Producers include Felton Rd, Chard Farm and Mt Difficulty.

The latest sub-region appears to be Waitaki, on the border between Otago and Canterbury.

A recent blind tasting of New Zealand Pinot Noir featured in Cuisine magazine (issue 119), Michael Cooper reported that of the top ten wines, five came from Central Otago, four from Marlborough and one from Waipara. This compares with all top ten wines coming from Marlborough in an equivalent blind tasting from last year. Cooper sugggests that this has to do with more Central Otago production becoming available in commercial quantities, than the relative qualities of the regions' Pinot Noir.

As is the case for other New Zealand wine, New Zealand Pinot Noir is fruit-driven, forward and early maturing in the bottle. It tends to be quite full bodied (for the variety), very approachable and oak maturation tends to be restrained. High quality examples of New Zealand Pinot Noir are distinguished by savoury, earthy flavours with a greater complexity.

United States

By volume most Pinot Noir in America is grown in California with Oregon coming in second. Other regions are Washington State and New York.

California Wine Regions known for producing Pinot Noir are:

• Santa Barbra
• Monterey County
• Carneros District in Napa
• Russian River Valley
• Anderson Valley

Oregon pinot noir pioneer David Lett of Eyrie Vineyards first planted pinot noir in Oregon in 1965, and several other growers followed suit throughout the 1970s. In 1979, David took his wines to a competition in Paris, known in English as the Wine Olympics, and placed third among pinots. The competition, sponsored by the French magazine Gault-Millau, was a followup to the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, and pitted French wines against wines from the rest of the world. In a 1980 rematch arranged by French wine magnate Robert Drouhin, the Eyrie vintage improved to second place. The competition instantly put Oregon on the map as a world class pinot noir producing region.

The Willamette Valley of Oregon is at the same latitude as the Burgundy region of France, and has a similar climate in which the finicky pinot noir grapes thrive. In 1987, Drouhin purchased land in the Willamette Valley, and in 1989 built Domaine Drouhin Oregon, a state-of-the-art, gravity-fed winery. Throughout the 1980s, the Oregon wine industry blossomed.

Canada

Quality pinot noir has been grown in Ontario for some time in the Niagara Peninsula wine region, as well as on the north shore of Lake Erie. It has also been grown recently in the Okanagan, Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Island wine regions of British Columbia.

In the last decade growers in the Prince Edward County region of Ontario, such as wine pioneer Geoff Heinricks, have made a concerted effort to grow pinot noir in the region, as it is felt by advocates that the latitude, climate, growing season, and limestone soils are very similar to the Burgundy region of France.

Recent popularity

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A California Pinot

During 2004 and the beginning of 2005, pinot noir became considerably more popular amongst consumers in the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Being lighter in style, it has benefitted from a trend toward more restrained, less alcoholic wines. Pinot noir was also heavily featured in the 2004 film Sideways. [1]. In the film, the main character Miles describes pinot to his love interest:

"It's a hard grape to grow ... it's thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early ... it's not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and thrive even when it's neglected. No, pinot needs constant care and attention ... it can only grow in these really specific, little, tucked-away corners of the world. And only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really. Only somebody who really takes the time to understand pinot's potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, oh, it's flavors, they're just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and ancient on the planet."

And Robert Parker has described pinot noir in Parker's Wine Buying Guide: "When it's great, pinot noir produces the most complex, hedonistic, and remarkably thrilling red wine in the world..."

References

• Galet, P., Cépages et vignobles de France 2nd Edn., Montpellier, 1990.
• Robinson, J., Vines Grapes & Wines, Michell Beazley, London, 1992.

External links

• Pinot Noir Wine Grape History, Character and Growing Areas