Pinot Noir wines

Many of the world's most famous and sought-after wines are single-variety Pinot Noirs. These wines are said to be delicate, very elegant, perfumed and extremely pleasant. Some have even claimed that a Pinot Noir wine is “sex in a glass”!

Pinot Noir wine can have different nuances depending where it comes from. However, they generally tend to have little colour depth, they are light on the palate and they have aromas cherry, raspberry, blackcurrant and other berries.

The Pinot Noir variety is native to France. We know that it was already being cultivated in present-day Burgundy in the 1st century AD. Although Burgundy Pinot Noir is the most prestigious, cultivation of this variety has spread throughout the world over the years. French Pinot Noir wines tend to be elegant and delicate, but from California or New Zealand they usually have more colour than their French counterparts, as well as more potency and a higher alcohol content.

Looking at the other regions in France, Pinot Noir grows in many of them. In Jura, for example, Pinot Noir wines are lighter than those made in Burgundy. If we go further north, to Sancerre in the Loire Valley, a very northern wine region, red and rosé wines made with Pinot Noir are even lighter than they are in Jura. There is also Alsace, where Pinot Noir is mainly used to make a single-variety rosé. Finally, there is the Champagne region, where Pinot Noir also has a leading role. Here, it is often found alongside Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, making up the most famous sparkling wine in the world, champagne. However, there are also blanc de noir champagnes, which are exclusively single-variety Pinot Noir wines.

In Germany, Pinot Noir is known as Spätburgunder, which literally means late Burgundian. It is the most widely planted red grape in the country and is mainly cultivated in the Baden, Palatinate and Ahr regions. German Pinot Noir red wines have greatly improved in recent decades, reaching a unique quality and typicity and being highly valued.

If we look at some other European countries, in Italy, Pinot Noir is called Pinot Nero and is grown mainly in Südtirol, Collio Goriziano, Oltrepò Pavese, Veneto, Friuli, Trentino and Tuscany. Further north, in Austria, Pinot Noir also has a part to play and they call it Blauburgunder.

Pinot Noir is also cultivated in Spain, but in a different way to the other countries we have looked at. The regions it is most commonly found in are Catalonia, followed by Navarra, Aragón and Castilla y León. However, it always plays a supporting role to each region’s native varieties.

Finally, crossing the Atlantic, Pinot Noir is cultivated in Chile, mainly in the Colchagua, Casablanca, Limarí, San Antonio, Curicó and Biobío valleys. However, it represents a very small proportion of what is grown across the country’s vineyards. Next to Chile, there is Argentina, where Pinot Noir is grown mainly in the El Comahue region. Much further north, there is the United States, which is one of the main producers of Pinot Noir red wine, with cultivation mostly concentrated in California.

So, the Pinot Noir grape grows all around the world. It produces fine, delicate wines with unique nuances that give us clues as to where each wine was made. It would be interesting to find out how it has adapted to each of the different growing areas.

Why not enjoy a bottle alongside your next romantic dinner!