Pinot Noir – The Heartbreak Grape
Along the cool, gentle slopes in Burgundy, France, reside red grapes
that make some of world’s greatest wines. Here, these wines are
known to the world as Red Burgundy. The rest of the world knows
these wines as Pinot Noir. Rich and full of flavors like plump cherry,
jammy strawberries, earthy aromas and smoke, dare I say that a great
Pinot Noir (Pee-no, nwah) is the sexiest of all the red wines.
Of all the wine grape varieties, it may be by far the most difficult to
grow and cultivate for winemakers. It is very finicky and requires the
perfect climate and soil to excel. This translates to a place that has cool
mornings and evenings, with sunny afternoons. It needs this constant
contrast in temperature to thrive. Talk about mood swings! Because it
is so difficult to grow, there are very few places in the world that plant it
and even fewer places that make Pinot Noir wines well. Burgundy,
France would be considered the ‘Motherland’ of great Pinot Noir wines,
but places like the State of Oregon, which shares the same global
latitude as Burgundy, France and therefore similar in climate, are
closing the gap on quality. New Zealand and parts of the California
Coast are also having great success with Pinot Noir. However, just like
the old cliché, “You’ve got to kiss a lot of toads to find a prince”, the
same could be said about finding a great Pinot Noir wine. It is because
of this, along with the difficulty in growing the grape that makes people
in the wine industry refer to Pinot Noir as the “Heartbreak” grape.
Perhaps that is also why this particular style of wine is usually
expensive. In fact, I would venture to say that most examples range
from $18.00 to $40.00.
To make matters even worse for Pinot Noir, it also requires the proper
storage and serving temperature to be enjoyed fully. That is
approximately 58 degrees Fahrenheit. I suppose you could open up a
bottle that has been stored at room temperature, but you would be
missing out on that cool refreshing acidity that a good Pinot Noir packs
with a solid punch.
So now that I’ve told you that very few Pinot Noirs are good (Most are
plain and ordinary), they are very expensive, they need to be carefully
stored, and should be served at a certain temperature, you are probably
thinking, gee, this wine sounds like a real pain in the rear, why should I
even bother with buying or trying a bottle of Pinot Noir? I’ll tell you
why! When you stumble upon a great bottle of Pinot Noir and take care
to store and serve it correctly, you will find yourself truly, in the middle
of a wine epiphany! I have had that experience. Fortunately for me, I’
ve had it on several occasions. I’d also be willing to bet, that if you’re
like me, it will instantly become your favorite wine style in the world.
For all of its shortcomings, there are some great and wonderful things
that truly make Pinot Noir the Ace of Spades in the wine deck. For
example, most wines that you drink; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,
Zinfandel, etc… are a blend of different grapes. This means that the
winemakers will take that Merlot wine that you covet and add a little
Cabernet Sauvignon to it to give it some backbone, or by contrast, they
add a little Merlot to a spirited Cab to mellow it out a little. You will
almost NEVER see anyone blend any other grapes with Pinot Noir. It
stands up on it’s own.
Another reason they are so magnificent is their ability to match with
such a huge array of food items. They can even pair with food dishes
that are off-limits to most other red wines, such as shellfish and lightly
baked fish. And of course, the best examples of Pinot Noir are silky
smooth with exotic aromas and a seductive taste that lingers on and on
in your mouth.
Unlike very tannic wine grapes, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, which has
very thick, tannic skins (Tannins preserve and allow wines to mature
with age), Pinot Noir grape skins are thin. What allows the great Pinot
Noirs to age so well is the concentration of acidity in the grape. When
the acidity is low in the grape, the wines made from them will tend to
taste flabby (see wine terms) and dull. They lack that zing that you look
for in a good Pinot Noir. But when the acidity and the full fruit flavor
are in balance and in complete harmony with one another, we’re talking
wine perfection here!
Please, don’t take my word for it, go and try one yourself with that
special chicken dish you prepare at home or with that roasted duck
entrée at your next meal in an Expensive Restaurant. Go ahead and
splurge! You know you’re worth it!
