Pinot noir: Back to Winemaking – Back to Grapes – Back to Countries
Top thirteen grapes:
Reds – Cabernet Franc – Cabernet Sauvignon – Malbec – Merlot –
Whites – Chardonnay – Gewürztraminer – Muscat –
Pinot blanc – Pinot gris – Riesling – Sauvignon blanc
Next twenty-five grapes:
Reds – Barbera – Carignan – Gamay – Grenache – Mourvèdre – Petit Verdot –
Sangiovese – Tannat – Tempranillo – Touriga Nacional – Zweigelt
Whites – Albariño – Aligoté – Arinto – Chenin blanc – Malvasia –
Müller-Thurgau – Muscat-Ottonel – Sémillon – Tămâioasă Românească –
Traminer – Ugni-blanc – Viognier – Welschriesling
– and Cava
| The dominant red wine grape of Burgundy. Pinot Noir is over a thousand years older than Cabernet Sauvignon, tracing its roots back to the Roman era, almost certainly an ancient variety just one or two generations removed from wild, perhaps a direct domestication of Vitis sylvestris vines. These wild vines had grown as far north as Belgium in pre- phylloxera days. In De re rustica (1stc CE), Columella describes a grape variety similar to Pinot Noir in Burgundy. Pinot is first referenced in 1375 in documents attached to a shipment of wine despatched to Bruges by Duc Philippe le Hardi.  Image source: virginwines.co.uk/ Today’s name literally applies the French words for pine and black. Others suggest that it comes from a place name – Pinos or Pignols. Pignols in the Auvergne, central France has cultivated Pinot since the Middle Ages. A DNA study, in 2000, found that Pinot has a parent-sibling relation with Savagnin. But the second parent has not been identified. Pinot shares morphological characteristics with the wild Silvestris subspecies of vitis vinifera. This grows wild in the Ile-de-France region where Moreillon was documented in the late 13th century. However, a genetic link between the two has not yet been established. It was believed that Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Précoce were members of a ‘Pinot Family’. Whilst DNA profiling has shown them to share genetic fingerprints, but they appear to be mutations or clones of a common variety. |
 Image: www.vintageroots.co.uk Pinot noir is not the original name for this variety. Moreillon (later Morillon) was documented in 1283; that name may derive from words for blackberry, or the La Morée river in the Ile-de-France region. The Noirien name (derived from black) emerged in the late 14thc in the Côte d’Or. Auvernas is yet another early name from the Loiret département, suggesting that the grape came from the Auvergne. Taste/smell: It has an aroma of black and red cherry, raspberry and strawberry currant and other berry fruits. As it ages the smell becomes more ‘gamey’, some say ‘barnyard’. It is also described as tasting of hibiscus, mushroom, tea leaves, vanilla and violets. Varieties/Mutations Pinot noir can be particularly prone to mutation, as a result of its longevity there are hundreds of clones in vineyards and vine collections worldwide. Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris are both colour mutations of Pinot Noir. It has over 1,000 registered clones, a testament to its genetic instability and constant evolution. Pinot Noir is a parent of many grape varieties, including twenty crosses with Gouais Blanc, including Aligoté, Chardonnay, Gamay Noir… ENTAV-INRA, the French government agency, lists over forty clones under the Pinot Noir name. Single-variety Pinot Noirs may include a proportion of another grape such as Malbec or Syrah to add colour and body. European appellations permit up to 15%, USA up to 25%. | Just under 40% of Burgundy’s vineyards are Pinot Noir (50% are Chardonnay). Description:  Image source: www.plantgrape.fr Pinot Noir is a a thin-skinned grape variety, with a moderate to high level of acidity, a low to moderate level of soft tannins. It is medium-bodied and generally paler in colour than many red wines. When young the colour is often described as garnet. Its grape clusters are reminiscent of a pine cone. these tightly-packed clusters make it vulnerable to viticultural hazards like rot, so the vine requires canopy management.  Image source: www.plantgrape.fr Its leaves are smaller than Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah. The vine itself is less vigorous than those varietals. Prominent Pinot Noir wines? Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits-Saint-Georges |
| Pinot noir producing countries: Big Five Producers: (overall 42% of vineyards, 64% of wine production and 41% of wine consumption – OIV 2022) Spain: Cava, Navarre and Valencia. France: Burgundy, Champagne, Jura, Loire, Lorraine and Savoie. Italy: Aosta. USA: California, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. Chile: Aconcagua, Coquimbo and South Chile. Next Ten Largest Producers: (with big five, responsible overall for 75% of vineyards, 88% of wine production, 64% of wine consumption – OIV 2022) Argentina: Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Mendoza and Patagonia. Australia: Tasmania and Victoria. China: Shanxi. Germany: Ahr, Baden, Hessische, Mittelrhein, Nahe, Pfalz, Rheingau, Rheinhessen and Württemberg.. India: Nashik. New Zealand: Canterbury, C Otago, Marlborough, Nelson, N Canterbury, Waipara, Wairarapa and Waikato. Portugal: Açores, Távora-Varosa, Tejo and Trás-os-Montes. Romania: Banat, Crisana, Danube, Dobruja and Transylvania.. South Africa: Cape South Coast, KwaZulu-Natal, Plettenburg Bay and Western Cape. Turkey: Aegean and Marmara. Others countries growing Pinot Noir: Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, UK, Ukraine, Uruguay | Grape is also known as: Aprofekete, Arbst, Assmannshaeuser, Augustiner, Auvergnat, Auvernas, Auvernat, Auvernat noir, Auxerra, Berligout, Blauburgunder, Blauer Arbst, Blauer Burgunder, Blauer Nurnberger, Blauer Spaetburgunder, Blauer Spätburgunder, Blauer-Klavner, Blauer-Klevner, Bodenseetraube, Borgogna Nero, Bourguignon, Bourguignon noir, Brunlauber, Burgundac Crni, Burgunder, Burgunder Blauer, Burgundske Modre, Cerna Ranka, Chambertin, Chpatchok, Claevner Blau, Clavner, Clevner, Cortaillod, Dickblau, Formentin noir, Franc Noiren, Franc Pineau, Franc Pinot, Frühschwarzer, Genetin de St Martin, Glasschwarz, Gribalet noir, Gut Blau, Karapino, Kisburgundi, Kisburgundi Kek, Klävner, Klebroth, Klevner. Klevner blau, Klevner Kek, Langedet, Malterdinger, Maltertinger, Marillon, Mário Feld, Mário Feld Tinto, Massoutel, Modra Klevanjka, Modra Klevanyka, Möhrchen, Möhrchen Spaet, Mohrenkoenigin, Mor Burgunder, Moréote, Morillon, Morillon noir, Mourillon, Nagyburgundi, Neyran, Noble, Noble Joue, Noir Meun, Noiried, Noirien, Noirien Franc, Noirien noir, Noirien Ternent, Noirun, Nuernberger Blau, Okrugla Ranka, Orléanais, Petit Bourguignon, Petit Noirin, Petit Plant Dore, Petit Verot, Pignola, Pignolet, Pignoliga, Pignolo, Pineau, Pineau de Bourgoyne, Pineau de Chambertin, Pineau noir, Pino Corni, Pinot, Pinot Clevner Cl. Maria-feld, Pinot d’ Ay, Pinot de Fleury, Pinot de Gevrey, Pinot de Migraine, Pinot Droit, Pinot Fin, Pinot Franc, Pinot Go, Pinot Mare, Pinot Negru, Pinot Nera, Pinot Neraborgogna Rosso, Pinot Nero, Pinot Salvagnin, Pinot Tinto, Plant a Bon Vin, Plant Dae, Plant de Cumieres, Plant de la Dole Noir, Plant Dore, Plant Fin, Plant Medaille, Plant Noble, Raisin de Bourgogne, Raucy, Roter, Roter Assmannshaeuser, Roter Burgunder, Rouci, Rouci Male, Rouci Modre, Rouget, Salvagnin Pignol, Samtrot, Savagin noir, Savagnin noir, Salvagnin noir Schurzir Riesling, Schwarzer Schwarzer Burgunder, Schwarzer Assmannhauser, Schwarzer Riesling, Schwarzer Sussling, Schwarzer Traminer, Schwarzerburgunder, Schwarzklevner, Shpachok, Spacok, Spätburgunder, Suessedel, Suessschwarz, Sussedel, Sussling, Sussrot, Thalrother (Germany); Vert Dore |
Image source: winespectrum.com
Pinot noir: Back to Winemaking – Back to Grapes – Back to Countries
Top thirteen grapes:
Reds – Cabernet Franc – Cabernet Sauvignon – Malbec – Merlot –
Whites – Chardonnay – Gewürztraminer – Muscat –
Pinot blanc – Pinot gris – Riesling – Sauvignon blanc
Next twenty-five grapes:
Reds – Barbera – Carignan – Gamay – Grenache – Mourvèdre – Petit Verdot –
Sangiovese – Tannat – Tempranillo – Touriga Nacional – Zweigelt
Whites – Albariño – Aligoté – Arinto – Chenin blanc – Malvasia –
Müller-Thurgau – Muscat-Ottonel – Sémillon – Tămâioasă Românească –
Traminer – Ugni-blanc – Viognier – Welschriesling
– and Cava
