In the last couple years, Pinot Noir has become even more popular with wine drinkers. Its fruit forward style makes for an easy drinking wine. The Pinot Noir grape is very temperamental and grows in only a few special places around the world. It also pairs well with many types of food.
Pinot Noir originated in Burgundy, a tiny wine region in northeastern France. The grape has been cultivated since around the year 100. Its soil and cool climate make the grapes and in turn, the wine, amazingly good. The grape is thin skinned and needs constant care. Excessive heat will cause early ripening and a poor quality wine. Top vineyards, sometimes called domaines sell a single bottle of wine for over $1000. Burgundy is a tough wine region to understand and explaining it here would use up a lot of E-Space. Some Burgundies are long lived wines, even though there a little tannins. Tannins act as a preservative.
Top Burgundy wines have this extra expression that is one of the hard things to explain. The expression is called "terrior." It is the feeling of location and surroundings while having a glass of wine “in my words.” You close your eyes, have a sip and you feel like you are standing in a vineyard of Burgundy. This occurs with many different wines.
When Pinot Noir made the trip across the pond, it was planted in California. It thrives in Santa Barbara County and Sonoma County. The cool ocean air keeps the Pinot grapes happy. The movie Sideways basically advertised and even advocated for Pinot Noir and wine in general. North of Santa Barbara, Pinot Noir is being produced in Monterey County, Sonoma County and Napa. The styles of the better producers tend to be big and bold with some wines reaching 14.5% alcohol. Pinot made a short trip north to Oregon and is becoming very popular. Oregon nearly has the same type of climate as Burgundy. Some wines there are very much like red Burgundies. The grapes are thriving there.
Pinot Noir is also doing well in Australia and New Zealand. They are affordable and tasty. Drink them young. The 2006 Over the Shoulder from Australia is a great Pinot under $15. In my opinion, it is tough to find a decent Pinot under $20. This is one of them.
Pinot Noir is a food friendly wine. It is fruit forward and has a fair amount of acidity. It is a great wine for someone who wants to begin drinking red wines. The history of Pinot Noir started a long, long time ago. Pop one tonight.
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