Jun. 30, 2010 - Issue #767: The Bestest of Edmonton 2010

Veni, Vidi, Vino

Pinot’s properties

Pinot Noir's characteristics will seduce you

Pinot Noir, also know as "the heartbreak grape," has been described as everything from hedonistic, seductive and fickle, to a minx and the devil by wine critics. Its power to capture and enchant its drinker with a velvety soft mouth complemented by its luscious red fruit, spicey, floral, herbaceous complexity, is probably the reason why it produces some of the finest wines in the world. "Pinot noir," Matt Kramer writes in his book New California Wine, "is a form of madness for both producer and drinker alike. Both persist because a great Pinot Noir brings you as close to God as any wine can."
Considered an ancient grape varietal, plantings of Pinot Noir date back as far as the first century AD to a time when ancient Romans cultivated this grape and called it Halvenacia Minor. Its name today literally means pine and black, which describes the bunches of small black berries that grow in the shape of a pine cone.

Between the budding and processing of this fickle grape, there are more than 100 different things that can go wrong. To start, Pinot Noir's unstable vine and the grape's inability to withstand extreme weather conditions such as rain, heat or cold, may result in less-than-juicy wine. Difficulty to grow, low yields and relatively small planting acreage equals pricey wine on the shelf, but cult followers are numerous and willing to pay for this delicacy.

In Burgundy, or Bourgogne, Pinot Noir is the signature red wine that has set a benchmark for most Pinot Noir makers worldwide. Pinot Noir tends to reflect more flavour of the soil than other red grapes, so terroir is especially pertinent. The famous Cote d'Or, which means golden hillside, is home to many of the great names of Burgundy and is situated on a limstone escarpment, which provides a good base for vineyard soil. In good years, Pinot Noir can age up to 20 years and can develop a meaty, barnyard type of earthiness.

Gaining popularity in the market are New World countries producing fruit-forward, bolder Pinot Noir that can make one understand the wine's hedonistic reputation. New Zealand's Pinot Noir plantings started in the early 1980s and now several winemaking regions are well-known for their high quality Pinots such as Central Otago, Marlborough and Waipara.
California is also growing Pinot Noir—over 20 000 acres all over the region with thanks to proper cloning of the grape varietal. Bold and fruit-forward, these wines can be fuller bodied and enhanced with French and American oak. Notable growing regions include the Sonoma Coast, Russion River Valley and Central Coast AVA.

While California Pinot Noir takes up more shelf space in your local wine shop, it's the Oregonians that opened up the world of Pinot Noir to North America. With Pinot Noir as its signature grape, the Willamette Valley in Oregon led the North America wine market to the first Pinot Noir that could stand up against Burgundian wines in 1970. The cooler climates of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia are enabling producers to make wines with those seductive, velvety, Pinot Noir qualities.
Pairing with food is also one of Pinot Noir's charms with its light body and upfront fruit. Pick any kind of fare from tapas to pizza to the classic salmon pairing; lighter meats such as duck, pork and well, pretty much anything tasty and yummy just the like wine itself.

Not only is Pinot Noir a delightful treat, it is also unusually high in resveratrol (a natural chemical compound found in the skin of grapes), which is great for health-conscious folk. Clinical and statistical evidence and laboratory studies have shown that resveratrol boosts the immune system, blocks the formation of some cancers, offers protections against heart disease and even prolongs life. V
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