PINOT NOIR
The name is derived from the French words for "pine" and "black" alluding to the grape variety's tightly clustered dark purple pine cone-shaped bunches of fruit.
Pinot noir's home is France's Burgundy region, particularly on the Côte-d'Or. As the "mother grape" of the Pinot family, the red Pinot Noir grape is perhaps the oldest cultivated varietal of the genus Vitis vinifera, of which the major of the great wine grapes of the world belong too.
Pinot Noir is the most difficult grape to grow requiring a long and cool growing season and is prone to plant diseases. This is a challenge for wine makers but is rewarding when successful since Pinot Noir can become some of the most complex and interesting wine. It grows best in Burgundy and Champagne, France, California, Oregon, and is beginning to make a name for itself in New Zealand and Australia. Pinot Noir tends to be lighter in body and have a lower level of tannin than most other reds.
It is grown in Champagne, where it is blended with the Chardonnay grape to create the famous sparkling wine.
Grape Variety
Pinot Noir
Use in Old World
Burgundy. Also Germany and Switzerland.
Use in New World
US, Australia
Color
Light red, sometimes with a slight hint of blue.
Aroma
Dark cherries and linden (to some a 'Band-aid' smell).
Body
Light to medium.
Wine Making Flavors
Brett (horse blanket), sometimes strongly, especially in Burgundy.
Blended with
Rarely blended, except with Chardonnay in Champagne.
Other
The hardest of all wines to make, and often the most rewarding when it is successful.
Categories:
Red Wine Grapes