Home      Discussion      Topics      Dictionary      Almanac
Signup       Login
Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Discussion
Ask a question about 'Pinot Noir'
Start a new discussion about 'Pinot Noir'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum
 
Encyclopedia
Pinot noir is a red wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage typically made of fermented grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes...

 grape
Grape
A grape is the non-climacteric fruit, botanically a true berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, and grape seed oil...

 variety of the species Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
For the town in Australia, see Vinifera, VictoriaVitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Spain north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran.It is a liana growing to 35 m tall, with flaky bark...

. The name may also refer to wines produced predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French
French language
French is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...

 words for "pine" and "black" alluding to the varietals' tightly clustered dark purple pine cone-shaped bunches of fruit.

Pinot noir grapes are grown around the world, mostly in the cooler regions, but the grape is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France
France
France , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...

. It is widely considered to produce some of the finest wines in the world, but is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine.

Description


Pinot noir thrives in France's Burgundy region, particularly on the Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or is a department in the eastern part of France.- History :Côte-d'Or is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was formed from part of the former province of Burgundy.- Geography :...

 which has produced some of the world's most celebrated wines for centuries. It is also planted in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...

, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Chile
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, the Republic of Georgia, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...

, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...

, the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country in the central Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south....

, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...

, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...

, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...

 and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...

. The United States has increasingly become a major Pinot noir producer, with some of the best regarded coming from the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the region in northwest Oregon in the United States that surrounds the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its emergence from mountains near Eugene to its confluence with the Columbia River at Portland. A small part of the Willamette Valley ecoregion is in...

 in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

; California
California
California is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...

's Sonoma County with its Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations, as well as the Central Coast's Santa Lucia Highlands appellation and the Sta. Rita Hills American Viticultural Area in Santa Barbara County. In New Zealand, it is grown in Martinborough
Martinborough
Martinborough is a town in South Wairarapa, a district in the Wellington region on the North Island of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton...

, Waipara
Waipara
Waipara is a small town in north Canterbury, New Zealand, on the banks of the Waipara River.It is at the junction of State Highways 1 and 7 60 kilometres north of Christchurch...

, and Central Otago
Central Otago Wine Region
At latitude 45° south, the Central Otago Wine Region is the most southerly wine producing region in the world. The vineyards are also the highest in New Zealand at 200 to 400 metres above sea level where they cling precariously to the steep slopes of lakesides and the edges of deep river gorges,...

.

The leaves of Pinot noir are generally smaller than those of Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

, but larger than those of Syrah. The grape cluster is small and cylindrical, vaguely shaped like a pine cone. Some viticultural historians believe this shape may have given rise to the name.
Pinot noir tends to produce narrow trunks and branches. In the vineyard it is sensitive to light exposure, cropping levels (it must be low yielding), soil types and pruning techniques. In the winery it is sensitive to fermentation methods, yeast strains and is highly reflective of its terroir
Terroir
Terroir was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that geography bestowed upon particular varieties. Agricultural sites in the same region share similar soil, weather conditions, and farming techniques, which all contribute to the unique...

with different regions producing very different wines. Its thin skin makes it highly susceptible to bunch rot
Botrytis
Botrytis may refer to:*Botrytis, the anamorphs of fungi of the genus Botryotinia**Botrytis cinerea, a mold important in wine making*Botrytis, the cauliflower cultivar group of Brassica oleracea...

 and other fungal diseases. The vines themselves are prone to downy mildew
Downy mildew
Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to Peronosporaceae...

, leaf roll, and fanleaf
Grapevine fanleaf virus
Grapevine fanleaf virus is a plant pathogenic virus of the family Comoviridae.-External links:**...

. These complications have given the grape the reputation of being difficult to grow: Jancis Robinson
Jancis Robinson
Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com...

 calls Pinot a "minx of a vine" and André Tchelistcheff
André Tchelistcheff
André Tchelistcheff was America's most influential post-Prohibition winemaker. Tchelistcheff is most notable for his contributions toward defining the style of California's best wines, especially Cabernet Sauvignon...

 declared that "God made Cabernet Sauvignon whereas the devil made Pinot noir."

However, Pinot wines are among the most popular in the world. Joel Fleischman of Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is an American Hollywood magazine of pop culture, fashion, and politics published by Condé Nast Publications. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1981 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition...

 describes Pinot noir as "the most romantic of wines, with so voluptuous a perfume, so sweet an edge, and so powerful a punch that, like falling in love, they make the blood run hot and the soul wax embarrassingly poetic." Master Sommelier Madeline Triffon calls pinot "sex in a glass". Peter Richardsson of OenoStyle christened it "a seductive yet fickle mistress!"

The tremendously broad range of bouquets
Wine tasting descriptors
The use of wine tasting descriptors allow the taster an opportunity to put into words the aromas and flavors that they experience and can be used in assessing the overall quality of wine...

, flavors, textures and impressions that Pinot noir can produce sometimes confuses tasters. In the broadest terms, the wine tends to be of light to medium body with an aroma reminiscent of black cherry
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus. It is a fleshy fruit that contains a single stony seed. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium.The name 'cherry', often as the...

, raspberry
Raspberry
The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the subgenus Idaeobatus of the genus Rubus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...

 or currant
Blackcurrant
The Blackcurrant is a species of Ribes berry native to central and northern Europe and northern Asia. It is also known as French "cassis"....

. Traditional red Burgundy is famous for its fleshy, 'farmyard' aromas, but changing fashions and new easier-to-grow clones have favoured a lighter, fruitier style. The grape's color when young, often compared to that of garnet
Garnet
The garnet group includes a group of minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. The name "garnet" may come from either the Middle English word gernet meaning 'dark red', or the Latin granatus , possibly a reference to the Punica granatum , a plant with red seeds...

, is often much lighter than that of other red wines. However, an emerging style from California and New Zealand highlights a more powerful, fruit forward and darker wine that can approach syrah in depth.

It is also used in the production of Champagne (usually along with Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is believed to have originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

 and Pinot meunier
Pinot meunier
Pinot Meunier, also known as Meunier, is a variety of black wine grape most noted for being one of the three main grapes used in the production of champagne...

) and is planted in most of the world's wine growing regions for use in both still and sparkling wines. Pinot noir grown for dry table wines is generally low-yielding
Crop yield
In agriculture, crop yield is not only a measure of the yield of cereal per unit area of land under cultivation, it is also the seed generation of the plant itself, i.e. one grain of wheat produces a stalk yielding three grain, or 1:3...

 and often difficult to grow well. Pinot noir grown for use in sparkling wines (e.g. Champagne) is generally higher yielding.

In addition to being used for the production of sparkling and still red wine, Pinot noir is also sometimes used for rosé
Rosé
A rosé wine has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.-Skin contact:...

 still wines, and even vin gris
Vin gris
Vin gris is white wine made from red grapes, in particular pinot noir. Pinot noir is a black grape, but can also be used to make rosé or white wine. When the grapes are brought to the winery and crushed, the juice is run off and removed from contact with the skin, leaving the colour and flavour...

 white wines.

History, mutants and clones


Pinot noir is an ancient variety that may be only one or two generations removed from wild vines. The origins of the variety are unclear: In De re rustica, Columella
Columella
Lucius Iunius Moderatus Columella was a Roman writer. After a career in the army , he took up farming...

 describes a grape variety similar to Pinot noir in Burgundy during the 1st century AD, however, vines have grown wild as far north as Belgium in the days before phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera , commonly just called Phylloxera , is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...

, and it is possible that Pinot represents an independent domestication of Vitis vinifera. The vines of southern France may represent Caucasian stock transported by the ancient Greeks.

Ferdinand Regner has proposed that Pinot noir is a cross between Pinot meunier
Pinot meunier
Pinot Meunier, also known as Meunier, is a variety of black wine grape most noted for being one of the three main grapes used in the production of champagne...

 (Schwarzriesling) and Traminer, but this work has not been replicated. In fact Pinot meunier appears to be a Pinot noir with a mutation in the epidermal cells which makes the shoot tips hairy and the vine a little smaller. This means that Pinot meunier is a chimera
Chimera (plant)
Chimeras in botany are usually single organisms composed of two genetically different types of tissue. They occur in plants, on the same general basis as with animal chimeras...

 with two tissue layers of different genetic makeup, one of which is identical to Pinot noir. As such, Pinot meunier cannot be the parent of Pinot noir.

Pinot gris
Pinot gris
Pinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance...

 is a bud sport of Pinot noir, presumably representing a somatic mutation in either the VvMYBA1 or VvMYBA2 genes that control grape colour. Pinot blanc
Pinot Blanc
Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produced white fruit....

 may represent a further mutation of Pinot gris
Pinot gris
Pinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance...

. The DNA profiles of both Pinot gris and blanc are identical to Pinot noir; the other two major Pinots, Pinot moure and Pinot teinturier, are also genetically very similar.

A more recent white grape sport was propagated in 1936 by Henri Gouges of Burgundy, and there is now 2.5ha planted of this grape which Clive Coates calls Pinot Gouges, and others call Pinot Musigny.

Pinot Liébault is a mutant which has higher, more consistent yields than Pinot noir, but retains its oenological qualities. As such it is explicitly mentioned in some Burgundy appellations.

The Wrotham (pronounced "ruttum") Pinot is an English variety with white hairs on the upper surface of the leaves, and is particularly resistant to disease. Edward Hyams of Oxted Viticultural Research Station was alerted to a strange vine growing against a cottage wall in Wrotham
Wrotham
Wrotham is a village situated on the Pilgrims' Way in Kent, at the foot of the North Downs. It is located one mile north of Borough Green and approximately five miles east of Sevenoaks. It is within the junction of the M20 and M26 motorways....

 in Kent
Kent
Kent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...

, which local lore said was descended from vines brought over by the Romans. An experimental Blanc de Noir was made at Oxted, and in 1980 Richard Peterson took cuttings to California, where he now makes a pink sparkling Wrotham Pinot. Wrotham Pinot is sometimes regarded as a synonym of Pinot meunier, but it has a higher natural sugar content and ripens two weeks earlier.

Pinot noir appears to be particularly prone to mutation (suggesting it has active transposable elements
Transposon
Transposons are sequences of DNA that can move around to different positions within the genome of a single cell, a process called transposition. In the process, they can cause mutations and change the amount of DNA in the genome. Transposons were also once called "jumping genes", and are examples...

?), and has a long history in cultivation, so there are hundreds of different clones
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing populations of genetically-identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or organisms...

 such as Pinot Fin and Pinot Tordu. More than 50 are officially recognized in France compared to only 25 of the much more widely planted cabernet sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

. The French Etablissement National Technique pour l’Amelioration de la Viticulture (ENTAV) has set up a programme to select the best clones of Pinot. This program has succeeded admirably in increasing the number of quality clones available to growers. Nonetheless, in the new world, particularly in Oregon, wines of extraordinary quality continue to be made from the earlier Pommard and Wadensvil clones.

Gamay Beaujolais
Gamay Beaujolais
Gamay Beaujolais is a varietal designation for a Californian grape variety that is an early ripening clone of Pinot noir.- History :In the late 1930's an early pioneer of the American viticulture, Paul Masson, brought with him several Burgundian grapes for his winery in California...

 is an early-ripening clone of Pinot noir. It is used mostly in California but is also seen in New Zealand. It was brought to California by Paul Masson. Frühburgunder (Pinot Noir Précoce) is an early-ripening grape that is thought to be a clone of Pinot noir - it's possible that the two are the same mutant.

In August 2007, French researchers announced the sequencing of the genome of Pinot noir. It is the first fruit crop to be sequenced, and only the fourth flowering plant.

Crosses


In the Middle Ages, the nobility of northeast France grew some form of Pinot on the slopes above the peasants' Gouais blanc
Gouais Blanc
Gouais blanc is a white grape variety that is seldom grown but is important as the ancestor of many French and German wine varieties. It is believed to originate in Croatia; in Central Europe it is known as Weißer Heunisch. The name Gouais derives from the old French adjective ‘gou’, a term of...

, a Croatian grape that may have been brought to Gaul
Gaul
Gaul is a historical name used in the context of the Roman Empire in references to the region of Western Europe approximating present day France and Belgium, but also sometimes including the Po Valley, western Switzerland, and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River...

 by the Romans. Much cross-pollination usually resulted from such close proximity, and the genetic distance between the two parents imparted hybrid vigour
Heterosis
Heterosis is a term used in genetics and selective breeding. The term heterosis, also known as hybrid vigor or outbreeding enhancement, describes the increased strength of different characteristics in hybrids; the possibility to obtain a genetically superior individual by combining the virtues of...

 leading to many desirable offspring. These include Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is believed to have originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

, Aligoté
Aligoté
Aligoté is a white grape used to make dry white wines in the Burgundy region of France, and which also has significant plantings in much of Eastern Europe including Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria. With , it was the 22nd most planted vine variety in the world in 2004...

, Auxerrois
Auxerrois
Auxerrois is a historical province of France. Named after the city of Auxerre in Burgundy, it gives its name to several grape varieties:* Auxerrois Blanc is a white wine grape that is widely grown in Alsace, and also in Lorraine, Germany and Luxembourg...

, Gamay
Gamay
Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 1400s...

, Melon and eleven others.

In 1925 Pinot noir was crossed in South Africa
South African wine
South African wine has a history dating back to 1659, and at one time Constantia was considered one of the greatest wines in the world. Access to international markets has unleashed a burst of new energy and new investment. Production is concentrated around Cape Town, with major vineyard and...

 with the Cinsaut
Cinsaut
Cinsaut or Cinsault is a red wine grape, whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria and Morocco...

 grape (known locally as Hermitage) to create a unique variety called Pinotage
Pinotage
Pinotage, is a red wine grape that is South Africa's signature variety. It was bred there in 1925 as a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut. It typically produces deep red varietal wines with smoky, bramble and earthy flavors, sometimes with notes of bananas and tropical fruit, but has been...

.

Australia


Pinot noir is produced in several wine growing areas of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...

, notably in the Yarra Valley
Yarra Valley
The Yarra Valley is the name given to the region surrounding the Yarra River in Victoria, Australia. The river originates in the Yarra Ranges approximately 80 kilometres east of Melbourne and flows towards and into the city of Melbourne and out into Port Phillip...

, Geelong
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong is the second largest city in the state of Victoria, Australia and is the largest regional centre in the state. It is a port city with an urban population of 160,991 people, and one of the largest provincial cities in Australia...

, the Bellarine Peninsula
Bellarine Peninsula
The Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula separates Port Phillip from Bass Strait...

, Beechworth
Beechworth, Victoria
Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s...

, South Gippsland
Gippsland
Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...

, Sunbury
Sunbury
Places called Sunbury include:Australia*Sunbury, Victoria**Sunbury Downs College**Sunbury Pop Festival Canada*Sunbury County, New BrunswickUnited Kingdom*Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, EnglandUnited States*Sunbury, Georgia*Sunbury, Ohio...

 and Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Central Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its...

 in Victoria, Adelaide Hills
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 9,000 people and which is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.-...

 in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....

, Great Southern Wine Region in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...

 and Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is located south of the eastern side of the continent, from which it is separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania – the 26th largest island in the world – and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 500,000 ,...

.

Austria


In Austria, Pinot noir is sometimes called Blauburgunder (literally Blue Burgundy) and produced in Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities...

 and Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeast state of the nine states or Bundesländer in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten , but formerly, the capital of Lower Austria was Vienna, even though Vienna is not properly part of Lower Austria...

. Austrian Pinot noir wines are dry red wines similar in character to the red wines of Burgundy, mostly aged in French barriques. Some of the best Austrian Pinots come from Neusiedlersee and Blaufraenkischland, (Burgenland) and Thermenregion (Lower Austria).

Canada


Quality Pinot noir has been grown in Ontario for some time in the Niagara Peninsula
Niagara Peninsula
The Niagara Peninsula is the portion of Southern Ontario, Canada lying between the south shore of Lake Ontario and the north shore of Lake Erie. It stretches from the Niagara River in the east to Hamilton, Ontario in the west. The population of the peninsula is roughly 1,000,000 people...

 and especially the Short Hills Bench
Short Hills Bench
The Short Hills Bench sub-appellation of the Niagara Peninsula .-Flora and fauna:A Carolinian Climatic Zone, the Short Hills Bench has been acknowledged for its unique soils, topography and climate by the governing body of wine production, the Vintners Quality AllianceOntario and by the United...

 wine region, as well as on the north shore of Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the thirteenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...

. It has also been grown recently in the Okanagan, Lower Mainland
Lower Mainland
The Lower Mainland is a name commonly applied to the region surrounding Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In 2007, 2,524,113 people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there....

, and Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada, one of several North American regions named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific coast of North America between 1791 and 1794....

 wine regions of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...

 and the Annapolis Valley
Annapolis Valley
The Annapolis Valley is a valley in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy.-Geography:...

 region of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Canadian province located on Canada's southeastern coast. It is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. Its capital, Halifax, is a major economic centre of the region. Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of...

.

UK


Pinot noir is increasingly being planted in the U.K., mostly for use in sparkling wine blends such as Nyetimber. It is sometimes made into a fairly light still red or rose wine, in the style of Alsace, Chapel Down are particular keen on it. The U.K. can claim an indigenous Pinot variety in the Wrotham Pinot (see above).

France


Pinot noir has made France's Burgundy
Burgundy wine
Burgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as Burgundies - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from Chardonnay grapes. Red and white wines are also made from other grape varieties,...

 appellation
Appellation
An appellation is a geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, such as what grapes may be grown, maximum grape yields, alcohol level, and other quality factors, may also apply before an appellation name may...

 famous, and vice-versa. Many wine historians, including John Winthrop Haeger and Roger Dion, believe that the association between pinot and Burgundy was the explicit strategy of Burgundy's Valois
Valois
Valois is a district, in the city of Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada. It was once a separate village, many years ago, but was then merged with Pointe-Claire....

 dukes. Roger Dion, in his thesis regarding Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold can refer to:* Philip the Bold, also known as Philip II Duke of Burgundy * Philip III of France...

's role in promoting the spread of Pinot noir, holds that the reputation of Beaune
Beaune
Beaune is a commune in eastern France, a sub-prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department in the Bourgogne region.-Wine:The area around Beaune, the Côte de Beaune, is known for its Burgundy wines, with Beaune as the hub of the local wine business...

 wines as "the finest in the world" was a propaganda triumph of Burgundy's Valois dukes. In any event, the worldwide archetype for Pinot noir is that grown in Burgundy
Burgundy wine
Burgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as Burgundies - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from Chardonnay grapes. Red and white wines are also made from other grape varieties,...

 where it has been cultivated since AD100.

Burgundy's Pinot noir produces great wines which can age very well in good years, developing floral flavours as they age, often reaching peak 15 or 20 years after the vintage. Many of the wines are produced in very small quantities and can be very expensive.
Today, the celebrated Côte d’Or area of Burgundy has about 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) of Pinot noir. Most of the region's finest wines are produced from this area. The Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais regions in southern Burgundy have another 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres).

In Jura département
Jura (département)
Jura is a department in the east of France named after the Jura mountains.- History :Historically, Jura belonged to the Free County of Burgundy, known in French as the Franche-Comté. Dole was the capital until the region was conquered by Louis XIV and it was moved to Besançon...

, across the river valley from Burgundy, the wines made from Pinot noir are lighter.

In Champagne it used in blending with Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is believed to have originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

 and Pinot meunier
Pinot meunier
Pinot Meunier, also known as Meunier, is a variety of black wine grape most noted for being one of the three main grapes used in the production of champagne...

. It can also appear unblended, in which case it may be labeled blanc de noirs. The Champagne appellation has more Pinot planted than any other area of France.

In Sancerre
Sancerre
Sancerre is a medieval hilltop town , commune and canton in the Cher department of central France overlooking the Loire River. It is noted for its wine.-History:...

 it is used to make red and rosé
Rosé
A rosé wine has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.-Skin contact:...

 wines, much lighter in style that those of Burgundy, refreshing served chilled, especially in warmer years when they are less thin.

In Alsace
Alsace wine
Alsace wine or Alsatian wine is produced in the Alsace region in France and is primarily white. These wines, which for historical reasons have a strong Germanic influence, are produced under three different Appellation d'Origine Contrôlées : Alsace AOC for white, rosé and red wines, Alsace Grand...

 it is generally used to make rosé
Rosé
A rosé wine has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.-Skin contact:...

 wines. However, it is also used to make genuine red wines usually called Pinot noir rouge, which are similar in character to red Burgundy and Beaujolais wines but are consumed chilled. Prominent examples are Rouge de Barr and Rouge d'Ottrott. Pinot noir rouge is the only red wine produced in Alsace.

Germany


In Germany
German wine
German wine is primarily produced in the southwest of Germany, along river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 per cent of the German wine production is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions ...

 it is called Spätburgunder, and is now the most widely planted red grape. Historically much German wine produced from Pinot noir was pale, often rosé
Rosé
A rosé wine has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.-Skin contact:...

 like the red wines of Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fourth-smallest of the 26 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the sixth-most densely populated region in France , with 222 inhabitants per km²...

. However recently, despite the northerly climate, darker, richer reds have been produced, often barrel (barrique) aged, in regions such as Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine River in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....

, Palatinate
Palatinate (wine region)
Palatinate is a German wine-growing region in the area of Bad Dürkheim, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, and Landau in Rhineland-Palatinate. Before 1993, it was known as Rhine Palatinate . With under cultivation in 2006, the region is the second largest wine region in Germany after Rheinhessen...

 (Pfalz) and Ahr
Ahr
The Ahr is a river in Germany, a left tributary of the Rhine. Its source is at a height of approximately 470 meters above sea level in Blankenheim in the Eifel, in the cellar of a half-timbered house near the castle of Blankenheim...

. These are rarely exported and are often very expensive in Germany for the better examples. As "Rhenish", German Pinot noir is mentioned several times in Shakesperean plays as a highly prized wine.

There is also a smaller-berried, early ripening, lower yield variety called Frühburgunder (Pinot noir précoce) which is grown in Rheinhessen
Rheinhessen
Rhenish Hesse refers to the part of the former Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt located west of the Rhine river and now part of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is a hilly countryside largely devoted to vineyards, therefore it is also called the "land of the thousand hills." Its larger towns include:...

 and Ahr
Ahr
The Ahr is a river in Germany, a left tributary of the Rhine. Its source is at a height of approximately 470 meters above sea level in Blankenheim in the Eifel, in the cellar of a half-timbered house near the castle of Blankenheim...

 area and can produce very good wines.

Italy


In Italy, where Pinot noir is known as Pinot nero, it has traditionally been cultivated in the Alto Adige, Collio Goriziano, Oltrepò Pavese and Trentino regions to produce Burgundy-style red wines. Cultivation of Pinot noir in other regions of Italy, mostly since the 1980s, has been challenging due to climate and soil conditions.

In Alto Adige (called also Südtirol or historically Tirol) the variety is first noted 1838 as "Bourgoigne noir" in an grape wine buy list of the "k.u.k. Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft von Tirol und Vorarlberg, Niederlassung Bozen" and later called "Blauburgunder" like in Austria. The first analytical descriptions are from Edmund Mach (founder of Ist. Agr. San Michele a.A.) in the year 1894: Friedrich Boscarolli - Rametz/Meran - Rametzer Burgunder 1890, Chorherrenstift Neustift - Blauburgunder 1890, R.v.Bressendorf - Vernaun/Meran - Burgunder 1890, C.Frank - Rebhof Gries Bozen - Burgunder 1889, Fr. Tschurtschenthaler - Bozen - Burgunder 1890 & 1891, Fr. Tschurtschenthaler - Bozen - Kreuzbichler 1889 & 1891 & 1887. Today very small quantities from certain micro-zones (Mazon/Neumarkt, Buchholz, Eppan Berg, Vinschgau) are regularly on the top of Italian Pinot nero degustations. See for example the Pinot nero days

Moldova


Large amounts of Pinot were planted in central Moldova
Moldovan wine
Moldova has a well established wine industry. It has a vineyard area of ., of which are used for commercial production. Most of the country's wine production is for export...

 during the 19th century, but much was lost to the ravages of phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera , commonly just called Phylloxera , is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...

; Soviet control of Moldova from 1940 to 1991 also reduced the productivity of vineyards. Quality is somewhat variable; Moldovan Pinot can be overoaked and rather rough.

New Zealand


Pinot noir is a grape variety whose importance in New Zealand is greater than the weight of planting. Early in the modern wine industry (late 1970s early 1980s), the comparatively low annual sunshine hours to be found in NZ discouraged the planting of red varieties. But even at this time great hopes were had for Pinot noir (see Romeo Bragato
Romeo Bragato
Romeo Alessandro Bragato played a significant role in the early development of the wine industry in New Zealand.-Early Life and Career:...

). Initial results were not promising for several reasons, including the mistaken planting of Gamay , and the limited number of Pinot noir clones available for planting. However in recent years Pinot noir from Martinborough and Central Otago has won numerous international awards and accolations making it one of New Zealand's most sought-after varieties.

Historically, one notable exception was the St Helena 1984 Pinot noir from the Canterbury
Canterbury, New Zealand
The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council and the University of Canterbury.- Geography :Canterbury is New...

 region. This led to the belief for a time that Canterbury might become the natural home for Pinot noir in New Zealand. While the early excitement passed, the Canterbury region has witnessed the development of Pinot noir as the dominant red variety. The next region to excel with Pinot noir was Martinborough
Martinborough
Martinborough is a town in South Wairarapa, a district in the Wellington region on the North Island of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton...

 on the southern end of the North Island. The moderate climate and long growing season gives wines of great intensity and complexity. In the 2000s, other sub-regions in the Wairarapa
Wairarapa
The Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...

 have been developed to the north of Martinborough
Martinborough
Martinborough is a town in South Wairarapa, a district in the Wellington region on the North Island of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton...

.

At around this time the first plantings of Pinot noir in Central Otago
Central Otago Wine Region
At latitude 45° south, the Central Otago Wine Region is the most southerly wine producing region in the world. The vineyards are also the highest in New Zealand at 200 to 400 metres above sea level where they cling precariously to the steep slopes of lakesides and the edges of deep river gorges,...

 occurred in the Kawarau Gorge. Central Otago had a long (for New Zealand) history as a producer of quality stone fruit and particularly cherries. Significantly further south than all other wine regions in New Zealand, it had been overlooked despite a long history of grape growing. However, it benefited from being surrounded by mountain ranges which increased its temperature variations both between seasons and between night and day making the climate unusual in the typically maritime conditions in New Zealand.

The first vines were planted using holes blasted out of the north facing schist slopes of the region, creating difficult, highly marginal conditions. The first results coming in the mid to late 1990s excited the interest of British wine commentators, including Jancis Robinson and Oz Clarke. The latest sub-region appears to be Waitaki, on the border between Otago and Canterbury.

A recent blind tasting of New Zealand Pinot noir featured in Cuisine magazine (issue 119), Michael Cooper reported that of the top ten wines, five came from Central Otago, four from Marlborough and one from Waipara. This compares with all top ten wines coming from Marlborough in an equivalent blind tasting from last year. Cooper suggests that this has to do with more Central Otago production becoming available in commercial quantities, than the relative qualities of the regions' Pinot noir. In addition, as the industry has matured, many of the country's top producers have made the decision to no longer submit their wines to reviews or shows.

As is the case for other New Zealand wine, New Zealand Pinot noir is fruit-driven, forward and early maturing in the bottle. It tends to be quite full bodied (for the variety), very approachable and oak maturation tends to be restrained. High quality examples of New Zealand Pinot noir, particularly from the Martinborough region, are distinguished by savoury, earthy flavours with a greater complexity.

Spain


Pinot noir has recently been produced in small amounts in Lleida province
Lleida (province)
Lleida is a province of north-eastern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Zaragoza and Huesca and the countries of France and Andorra....

, Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain. The capital city is Barcelona.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,364,078. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the...

, under the appellation
Appellation
An appellation is a geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, such as what grapes may be grown, maximum grape yields, alcohol level, and other quality factors, may also apply before an appellation name may...

 "Costers del Segre
Costers del Segre
Costers del Segre is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located in the province of Lleida and is divided into several separate sub-zones. The four original subzones created in 1988 are Artesa, to the northeast of Lleida, Valls de Riucorb to the east, Garrigues and Raimat...

" DO
Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen is part of a regulatory classification system primarily for Spanish wines but also for other foodstuffs like honey, meats and condiments. In wines it parallels the hierarchical system of France and Italy although Rioja and Sherry preceded the full system...

.

Switzerland


Pinot noir is a popular grape variety all over Switzerland. In German speaking regions of Switzerland it is often called Blauburgunder. Pinot noir wines are produced in Neuchâtel, Schaffhausen, St. Gallen and Bündner Herrschaft. Neuchâtel, across the border from Burgundy, is renowned for its Pinot noir, a full bodied dry red wine. In Valais, Pinot noir is blended with Gamay to produce the well known Dôle.

United States


By volume most Pinot noir in America is grown in California with Oregon coming in second. Other regions are Washington State, Michigan and New York. New York state red wines, http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/98/2.5.98/resveratrol.html,
have higher levels of resveratrol
Resveratrol
Resveratrol is a phytoalexin produced naturally by several plants when under attack by pathogens such as bacteria or fungi. Resveratrol has also been produced by chemical synthesis and is sold as a nutritional supplement derived primarily from Japanese knotweed...

—a naturally occurring substance in grapes that is believed to reduce the chance of heart disease and cancer—than comparable wines from other regions of the world, according to Leroy Creasy, professor of fruit and vegetable science.

California wine regions known for producing Pinot noir are:
  • Sonoma Coast
  • Russian River Valley
    Russian River (California)
    The Russian River is a southward-flowing river in the Northern California counties of Mendocino and Sonoma.-Course:The Russian River springs from the Laughlin Range about east of Willits in Mendocino County. It flows generally southward to Redwood Valley, then parallels U.S...

  • Central Coast
  • Sta. Rita Hills
  • Monterey County / Santa Lucia Highlands
    Santa Lucia Mountains
    The Santa Lucia Mountains or Santa Lucia Range is a mountain range in coastal California, running from Monterey southeast for 105 miles to San Luis Obispo. The highest summit is Junipero Serra Peak, in Monterey County...

  • Santa Cruz Mountains http://www.scmwa.com
  • Carneros District of Napa
    Napa Valley AVA
    Napa Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Napa County, California, USA. Napa Valley is considered one of the top wine regions in the United States and the world, with a history dating back to the nineteenth century. The combination of Mediterranean climate, geography and...

     and Sonoma
    Sonoma Valley
    Sonoma Valley is the birthplace of the California wine industry and often called The Valley of the Moon. Sonoma Valley is home to some of the earliest vineyards and wineries in the state, some of which survived the phylloxera epidemic of the 1870s and the impact of Prohibition...

  • Anderson Valley
    Anderson Valley
    Anderson Valley is a sparsely populated region in western Mendocino County in Northern California. Located approximately 100 miles north of San Francisco, the name "Anderson Valley" applies broadly to several rural, unincorporated communities in or near the alluvial terraces along Anderson Creek...

  • Livermore Valley
    Livermore Valley
    The Livermore Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Alameda County, California, surrounding the city of Livermore in the Tri-Valley region. Both the AVA and the city are named after Robert Livermore, a landowner whose holdings encompassed the valley. The groundwater basin underlying the...

  • San Luis Obispo County/Arroyo Grande Valley, Edna Valley http://www.slowine.com/cm/Home.html


Oregon wine regions known for producing Pinot noir:
  • Willamette Valley


Oregon Pinot noir pioneer David Lett
David Lett
David Lett was the founder and winemaker for The Eyrie Vineyards in the U.S. state of Oregon. He was a pioneer in the Oregon wine industry.Lett grew up in Utah and studied dentistry in California...

 of Eyrie Vineyards
Eyrie Vineyards
The Eyrie Vineyards is an American winery in Oregon that consists of in several different vineyards in the Willamette Valley. The vineyards and winery were established by owner and winemaker David Lett, who produced the first Pinot gris in the United States...

 first planted Pinot noir in Oregon in 1965, and several other growers followed suit throughout the 1970s. In 1979, Lett took his wines to a competition in Paris, known in English as the Wine Olympics
Wine Olympics
A Wine Olympics was organized by the French food and wine magazine GaultMillau in 1979; a total of 330 wines from 33 countries were evaluated by 62 experts from ten nationalities. The 1976 Trefethen Vineyards Chardonnay from the Napa Valley won the Chardonnay tasting and was judged best in the...

, and they placed third among pinots. In a 1980 rematch arranged by French wine magnate Robert Drouhin, the Eyrie vintage improved to second place. The competition instantly put Oregon on the map as a world class Pinot noir producing region.

The Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley AVA
The Willamette Valley AVA , is an American Viticultural Area which lies in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The AVA is the wine growing region which encompasses the drainage basin of the Willamette River...

 of Oregon is at the same latitude as the Burgundy region of France, and has a similar climate in which the finicky Pinot noir grapes thrive. In 1987, Drouhin purchased land in the Willamette Valley, and in 1989 built Domaine Drouhin Oregon, a state-of-the-art, gravity-fed winery. Throughout the 1980s, the Oregon wine industry
Oregon wine
The state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine. Oregon has several different growing regions within the state's borders which are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the border between Oregon and the...

 blossomed.

In general, "New York's relatively humid climate explains the higher concentrations of resveratrol in the wines," Creasy said. "Resveratrol is a natural fungicide, and the more humid the climate, the more is produced to combat mildew. During the long contact between the grape skins and the juice in producing red wines, the resveratrol is transferred into the wine.http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/98/2.5.98/resveratrol.html In recent times, wineries in New York State have come to be known for their Pinot noir, in particular the Niagara Escarpment AVA
Niagara Escarpment AVA
The Niagara Escarpment AVA is an American Viticultural Area in the New York state portion of the Niagara Escarpment. The area was officially recognized as an AVA on October 11th, 2005, by ruling of the United States Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau...

 and Warm Lake
Estate. The latter, in Lockport, New York
Lockport, New York
Lockport, New York can refer to either:*Lockport , New York, in Niagara County, NY.*Lockport , New York, which surrounds the city....

, is recognized in the The Oxford Companion to Wine
The Oxford Companion to Wine
The Oxford Companion to Wine is a book in the series of Oxford Companions published by Oxford University Press. The book provides an alphabetically arranged reference to wine, compiled and edited by Jancis Robinson, with contributions by several wine writers including Hugh Johnson, Michael...

and
has been awarded the highest ratings in New York State
of any Pinot noir with its of Pinot noir being the largest continuous
planting east of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States. The range's highest peak is Mount Elbert in Colorado at above sea level...

.

Recent popularity


During 2004 and the beginning of 2005, Pinot noir became considerably more popular amongst consumers in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...

, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...

 and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...

 possibly because of the movie Sideways
Sideways
Sideways is a 2004 American comedy-drama film written by Jim Taylor and Alexander Payne and directed by Payne. Adapted from Rex Pickett's 2004 novel, Sideways follows two forty-something men, portrayed by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, who take a week-long road trip to the wine country of...

. Being lighter in style, it has benefited from a trend toward more restrained, less alcoholic wines being at or around 12% alcohol by volume. Robert Parker
Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. is a leading U.S. wine critic with an international influence. His wine ratings on a 100-point scale and his florid tasting notes, published in his newsletter The Wine Advocate, define modern American wine criticism and are a major factor in setting the prices for...

 has described Pinot noir in Parker's Wine Buying Guide:
"When it's great, Pinot noir produces the most complex, hedonistic, and remarkably thrilling red wine in the world..."

See also

  • Burgundy wine
    Burgundy wine
    Burgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as Burgundies - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from Chardonnay grapes. Red and white wines are also made from other grape varieties,...

  • Russian River Valley AVA
    Russian River Valley AVA
    The Russian River Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Sonoma County, California. Centered around the Russian River, the Russian River Valley AVA accounts for about one-sixth of the total planted vineyard acreage in Sonoma County. The appellation was granted AVA status in 1983 and...

  • Willamette Valley AVA
    Willamette Valley AVA
    The Willamette Valley AVA , is an American Viticultural Area which lies in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The AVA is the wine growing region which encompasses the drainage basin of the Willamette River...

  • International variety
    International variety
    An International variety is a grape variety that is widely planted in most of the major wine producing regions and has widespread appeal and consumer recognition. These are grapes that are highly likely to appear on wine labels as varietal wines and are often considered benchmarks for emerging wine...


External links