Pinot Noir is without doubt, one of the world’s most popular red wines.
It’s made from thin-skinned red/black grapes that grow best in cooler regions. It’s also notoriously difficult to grow, having a well-deserved reputation as “the heartbreak grape”.
When all the right elements fall into place, it produces lighter-bodied red wines of elegance, complexity and longevity.
What is Pinot Noir?
Pinot Noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. It’s one of the world’s oldest grape varieties.
The grapes grow in fairly tight cone-shaped bunches. and this feature is said to have given the pinot its name—pinot on this theory being a derivative of French pin, ‘pine’, with the addition of a diminutive suffix (in former centuries it was generally spelled pineau, but pinot is now firmly established). Noir, ‘black’ refers to the colour of the grapes; there is also a pinot gris, ‘grey pinot’, which produces a white or pink wine (it is known in Italy as pinot grigio and in Germany as Ruländer, after Johann Seger Ruland, who propagated it in the Palatinate in the early eighteenth century), and a pinot blanc, ‘white pinot’, which produces a white wine.
Today, collectors prize Pinot Noir for its finesse and age worthiness, especially from the most famous vineyards in Burgundy. Due to its popularity and difficulty to grow, it’s one of the world’s most expensive wines.
Where does Pinot Noir come from?
While the origins of this ancient grape are not entirely known, Burgundy, France, has long been the spiritual home of Pinot Noir, where it produces some of the best single-varietal wines in the world. As the wines of Burgundy rose in fame and price, winemakers around the world sought to follow in their footsteps. This led to plantings of Pinot Noir throughout other parts of Europe and the New World, including New Zealand.
It's temperamental and difficult to grow and understand, so there's a certain pride among those who manage to grow it successfully. When Pinot Noir is in good and capable hands, it’s one of the wines that can transport you to another dimension.
Pinot Noir does better in cooler climates. Its trademark acidity, elegance and finesse disappear in warmer climates and hot weather. The countries that produce the finest Pinot Noir are France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, New Zealand, Australia, Oregon and Chile. Because of its widespread popularity, Pinot Noir is now thought of as an “international” variety.
What does Pinot Noir typically Taste Like?
Typically, Pinot Noir is dry (no residual sugar), medium-bodied, with bright acidity, silky tannins and alcohol ranging somewhere between 12–15%.
Pinot Noir is almost always made in a dry style. All the sugar from the grape must is converted into alcohol by yeast. The juicy fruit taste is not an accurate indication of residual sugar.
The alcohol in Pinot Noir depends on where it’s grown. Climate influences sugar ripeness, which influences alcohol levels. Pinot Noir from cooler regions like France and Germany often has 12–13.5% alcohol by volume (abv) but can head closer to 15% when grown in warmer climates like California and Australia. Cold and hot seasonal conditions also play a role in the wine’s final alcohol.
The best Pinot Noir taste has complex flavours that include cherry, raspberry, mushroom and forest floor, plus vanilla and baking spice when aged in French oak. Cooler climates produce more delicate and light-bodied Pinot Noir. Warmer climates produce riper and fuller-bodied Pinot Noirs with higher alcohol.
How cold should I serve Pinot Noir?
Pinot Noir has an ideal serving temperature range of 12–18°C. The more delicate and fresh the Pinot Noir the cooler it should be served. The more oaky and alcoholic, the warmer.
What food pairings work well with Pinot Noir?
The best food pairings complement the wine’s fruit flavours, bright acidity and elegant style. Pinot Noir is the perfect match for lighter red meats like duck and lamb, or white meats like turkey, pork and chicken. Fuller-flavoured fish like salmon go well, or using bolder tasting cooking methods like barbecuing on fish as well. Earthy vegetables and herbs like mushrooms and thyme match the wine’s savoury flavours, especially when folded into risotto and pasta.
Pairings that don’t work with Pinot Noir are foods that are dense and richly flavoured, like Indian or Thai. They can overpower the delicacy of the wine.
What’s the difference between Shiraz/Syrah and Pinot Noir?
Syrah and Pinot Noir are two different red grapes. Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned variety that makes wines of light color, light-to-medium body and alcohol, with high acidity, elegance and aromas of red fruits (cranberries, raspberries, red cherries) and mushrooms. Syrah has more tannin, body, alcohol and a darker hue. It hails from the Rhone Valley in France, where it has been made famous by the wines of Hermitage. Great examples also hail from Australia where it is called Shiraz.
Syrah come in a range with cool-climate wines showing more tart red fruit notes (red cherry, raspberry, strawberry), to warm-climate wines from Australia exhibiting more black fruit notes (blackberry, black cherry, black currant). Black pepper is a lovely signature aroma for Syrah.
What’s the difference between Pinot Noir and Merlot?
Once again these are two different red grapes. Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned variety that makes light-to medium-bodied wines of finesse, perfume and freshness with red fruit flavours. Merlot has more tannin, body, alcohol and a darker colour, and hails from the right bank of Bordeaux, where it has earned fame from the wines of Pomerol and Saint-Émilion. It’s flavour profile is more reminiscent of darker fruits with cool-climate wines revealing tart red fruit notes (red cherry, raspberry, strawberry), much like pinot noir, to warm-climate wines exhibiting black fruit notes (blackberry, black cherry, black currant).
