Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir - Photo: Pixabay

Pinot Noir is a variety of red grape used to make wines. Although Pinot Noir has great popularity it is very hard to cultivate and process in wineries. The wine lovers across the world have some passion for this grape. 

This particular grape is being cultivated from the ancient age. Its name was Helvenacia Minor in the ancient Roman era and it was used for winemaking. Pinot Noir is harvested around the world with several alias names, such as Blauburgunder in Austria, Burgundac in Yugoslavia, Clevner in Switzerland, Spätburgunder in Germany etc.

Pinot Noir achieves reputation so much that it is harvested in France over two-mile-wide, thirty-mile-long stretch of hills, called the Slope of Gold.

Pinot Noir makes an ever-lasting effect on the wine lovers' memory. Its flavour is very complex and it is very rich in texture. Sometimes cinnamon, sassafras, or mint is added to make it spicier than any other red wines.  It is rich but not heavy or acidic in texture. The alcohol level is high in this wine. It is not tannic. The most attractive quality is the soft, silky taste of pinot Noir. It can be preserved in bottles for five to eight years after vintage.

The Pinot Noir leaves are smaller than cabernet sauvignon leaves and larger than Syrah leaves. The grape berries are small and cylindrical. It is believed that this grape is named after its pine cone-like shape. This grape variety is very sensitive in the vineyards and wineries as well. It is very low yielding and thin skinned, which causes fungal infection and branch rot. In wineries, this grape needs a delicate fermentation with yeast strains. Due to these reasons, Pinot Noir is supposed to be made by the evil whereas Cabernet Sauvignon is supposed to be made by god.

The wine tasters sometimes get confused by the wide areas of flavours, bouquets, aroma derived by the Pinot Noir. The Pinot Noir wines’ colour is lighter than other red wines as it has low counts of red pigments for its thin skin.

It is blended with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier to make Sparkling Wines like Champagne. Pinot Gris, pinot Blanc and pinot meunier are the members of Pinot Noir family. Pinot Noir tends to mutation and as a result, almost 50 clones of it are vastly used in France.

Pinot Noir is crossed with Cinsaut, a South African grape variety, to develop an exclusive type of grape called Pinotage.

Author: Abhijit Dey

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