
Pinot Noir
Learn about Pinot Noir — taste profile, popular regions and more ...
One of the most finicky yet rewarding grapes to grow, Pinot Noir is a labor of love for many. However, the greatest red wines of Burgundy prove that it is unquestionably worth the effort. In fact, it is the only red variety permitted in Burgundy. Highly reflective of its terroir, Pinot Noir prefers calcareous soils and a cool climate, requires low yields to achieve high quality and demands a lot of attention in the vineyard and winery. It retains even more glory as an important component of Champagne as well as on its own in France’s Loire Valley and Alsace regions. This sensational grape enjoys immense international success, most notably growing in Oregon, California and New Zealand with smaller amounts in Chile, Germany (as Spätburgunder) and Italy (as Pinot Nero).
Tasting Notes for Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is a dry red wine, typically dominated by red fruit—strawberry, raspberry and cherry with some heftier styles showing black plum and more delicate styles of Pinot giving citrus qualities. It is relatively pale in color with soft tannins and a lively acidity. With age Pinot Noir wine can develop hauntingly alluring characteristics of fresh earth, savory spice and dried fruit.
Pinot Noir Food Pairings
Pinot’s healthy acidity cuts through the oiliness of salmon or texture of tuna but its mild-mannered tannins give it enough structure to pair the wine with all sorts of poultry: chicken, quail and especially duck. As the namesake wine of Boeuf Bourguignon, Pinot Noir has proven it isn’t afraid of beef. California examples work splendidly well with barbecue and Pinot Noir is also vegetarian-friendly—most notably with any dish that features mushrooms.
Sommelier Secrets for Pinot Noir
For administrative purposes, the region of Beaujolais is often included in Burgundy. But it is extremely different in terms of topography, soil and climate, and the important red grape here is ultimately Gamay, not Pinot Noir. Truth be told, there is a tiny amount of Gamay sprinkled around the outlying parts of Burgundy (mainly in Maconnais) but it isn’t allowed with any great significance and certainly not in any Village or Cru level wines. So "red Burgundy" still necessarily refers to Pinot noir.
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Meiomi Pinot NoirPinot Noir from California
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Parducci Small Lot Pinot Noir 2020Pinot Noir from California
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Head High Sonoma County Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from Sonoma County, California
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DeLoach Heritage Reserve Pinot Noir 2020Pinot Noir from California
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Hahn Founder's Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from California
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Lemelson Thea's Select Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon
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Lemelson Thea's Select Pinot Noir 2018Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon
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Belle Glos Clark and Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2020Pinot Noir from Santa Maria Valley, Central Coast, California
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Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon
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Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Saint-Georges Premier Cru 2019Pinot Noir from Nuits-St-Georges, Cote de Nuits, Cote d'Or, Burgundy, France
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Joseph Phelps Freestone Vineyards Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California
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Kosta Browne Gap's Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from Petaluma Gap, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California
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Paul Hobbs Russian River Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from Russian River, Sonoma County, California
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Wayfarer Wayfarer Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018Pinot Noir from Fort Ross-Seaview, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California
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Martin Ray Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California
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Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir 2018Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon
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Cakebread Two Creeks Vineyards Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley, Mendocino, California
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Fat Bastard Pinot Noir 2020Pinot Noir from Pays d’Oc, South of France, France
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Schug Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2020Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California
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- JS
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Martinelli Bondi Home Ranch Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from Green Valley, Russian River, Sonoma County, California
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Addax Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from Petaluma Gap, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California
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Angeline California Pinot Noir 2020Pinot Noir from California
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Ponzi Laurelwood District Pinot Noir 2017Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon
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Hahn SLH Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey, Central Coast, California
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Siduri Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2019Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon
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