 Pinot Noir is the parent of the noble family of all Pinot grapes. This variety has very old French origins even though is the result of the Roman colonization of the Rhône Valley, when soldiers used to bring along with them parts of vines with the intention to create their home environment in other countries. The Romans used to call this grape Helvenacia Minor.
Pinot Noir is one of the oldest grape varieties which has been cultivated for the purpose of making wine. This grape is grown in many regions of the world and it is called in many different ways: it is known as Blauburgunder or Spatburgunder in the northern part of Italy, in Austria and in Germany; in the rest of Italy it is called Pinot Nero; in the balcan countries is known as Burgundac and in Switzerland is often called Clevner. This grape is also grown in Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Hungary, Argentina and of course in the United States. In France Pinot Noir gives life to some of the most famous wines in the world. Together with Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay is the main variety used in Champagne. It also accounts for almost the totality of world-famous red Burgundies such as Echezeaux, Chambertin, Pommard, Vosne Romanée and the mythique La Tâche and Romanéè-Conti. In the Côte d'Or more than two-thirds of all the vineyards are planted with this grape. Pinot Noir is one of the main grapes used in Jura and it is also successfully cultivated in Alsace and Loire. In Italy this grape is used mainly for the production of Spumante and other sparkling wines in several areas: Oltrepò Pavese, Trentino Alto Adige and Franciacorta.
Pinot Noir is widely considered one of the most difficult grapes to grow and to make into wine. This is the reason why, also if there are several countries in the Southern part of the world that are trying to grow it, often the results are not very good. This grape requires warm days and cool nights: too little heat is responsible for wines without a good structure and too much heat causes over ripeness of the grapes which creates notoriously unelegant "cooked" wines. Pinot Noir has several other problems: from propagation of the vines to aging in the bottle. In fact Pinot Noir is somehow genetically unstable: it is estimated that the number of existing clones can reach up to 1,000 worldwide. This means that a vine can be completely different in grape's shape, dimension and varietal aromas from its parent vine. On the contrary, only 20 different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon have been identified so far.
Pinot noir is strongly influenced by soil much more than any other red grape variety: this fact makes the selection of a vineyard site a critical factor. The vines are vulnerable to early frosts damages, leaf-roll virus and are often affected by several other diseases. Pinot Noir leaves are quite small and do not provide enough protection to the grapes against birds.The bunches are small, compact, with a typical pine-cone shape which gives the name to this variety. Berries are quite small, thin-skinned with a black-purple color, sweet and juicy.
Pinot Noir ripens around the 15th of September. Once the harvest is succesfull, the thin-skinned grapes can suffer fermentation-related problems. In this grape are present several amino acids which can contribute to speed up the fermentation. Sometimes, this vital part of the wine-making process is so violent that is possible to literally see the must boiling out of the fermentation vats.
It is easy to understand at this point that growing and vinifying Pinot Noir requires skills. Almost every talented winemaker at some point in his or her carreer is interested in making a good Pinot Noir because of all the challenges involved.
If well made, Pinot Noir is definetely one of the best wines of the world. It is almost impossible to forget its soft, velvety texture and its smooth and round aromas. The wine has generally good tannins, it is full-bodied and very complex. The classic aromas in Pinot Noir are cherry, blackcurrant, spice and peppermint. Because of its terroir-driven character, according to the type of soil in which the grapes are grown, it is possible to find violet, strawberry, mushrooms, tomato leaf, green tea, rosemary, oregano and cinnamon. When the wine has reached a good maturity, aromas like truffles, leather, vanilla and tobacco are strongly perceivable. Generally speaking Pinot Noir has not a very strong aging potential, however many high-quality Burgundies can age for several decades. Domestic or new-world Pinot Noirs can't age at all because of their high alcohol content, overripe fruit and lower acidity.
Pinot Noir is a great pair with grilled seafood such as salmon and swordfish, chicken, lamb and duck. I believe that is the perfect wine to have with complex and delicate food. It pairs heavenly with truffles, pâté, hearthy cheeses and game.
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