All fruit and vegetable varieties, especially grapes, possess characteristic aromas pending on their environment and soil types. This phenomenon manifests itself in single vineyard wines more than in generic wines.

Over centuries, vineyard owners found out certain grape varieties grow better in certain regions, and within that area there were even more suitable parcels yielding more aromatic grapes.

French were the first to recognize that, but the Portuguese, and to some claim Hungarians, were the first to promulgate and implement appellation laws. French adopted the appellation concept on a countrywide scale in 1938, mostly to prevent fraudulent practices.

Fraud in the wine trade has been going on since wine became a commodity thousands of years ago. This is a bottled commodity that you cannot taste before opening the container, The consumer buys wine based on one of the following criteria – recommendation of a sales clerk, or fried, or wine writer, advertising, previous experience, based on a restaurant experience, or at a winery after tasting. The last way of buying is the most convincing, but you must also make sure that the wine is properly transported especially when you buy it at a distant location, i.e Europe to be shipped, or in your luggage.

The intensity of aromas depends on climatic conditions of the growing season, and pruning of vines, which can reduce or increase yield. In addition pressing levels, yeast strain employed for the fermentation, and aging play a role in the taste and appearance of the wine.

Chardonnay smells of green apples, lemon, pear, tropical fruits, and pending on aging, barrel wood, and toast level toasty or intense. Some chardonnays grown in calcareous soil or clay mixed with pebbles offer mineral flavours and smells.

When dead yeast cells are agitated after fermentation has been completed, buttery flavours develop.

Chardonnay musque, a sub-variety, smells of muscat like, which disappears after a few years in the bottle.

Sauvignon blanc smells pending on region, of cut grass, gooseberries (green gage), herbs, lime zest, and asparagus.

Viognier – peaches and apricots.

Cataratto – (the second most planted white grape variety in Italy after trebbiano ( a.k.a ugni blanc ) smells of peaches and nectarines.

Vidal when processed to ice wine smells of dried fruits mostly of peach/apricot and other stone fruits.

Cabernet sauvignon is well known for its black currants and/or black pepper. Pending on the toast levels of barrels and length of aging, aromas of dark chocolate, clove, cinnamon, cigar box, pencil shavings emanate.

Merlot – plums

Pinot noir – cherries, raspberries, beetroot, rotting forest leaves, barnyard and pending on toast level of barrels, tobacco and/or cigar.

Sangiovese – dark red cherries, dried orange zest

Shiraz or syrah – red berries (red currant, raspberry), black cherries, figs

Cabernet franc- raspberries, spices

There are more than 8000 grape varieties and counting., The above are the most popular for winemaking, at least in the western world.

Many winemakers bland two or more varieties to create new taste sensations. The dominant variety characteristics manifest themselves to experienced taster.

Tasting time, environment and taster’s experience, and gastronomic background play an important role in taste perception.

Experienced tasters possess sharp memories for smells and textures. They develop a jargon to express their perceptions.

It is important to remember that English, German, French, Italian, American, Australian and Latin American palates prefer different aromas and flavours.

Fruit aromas – peach, cherry, plum, pineapple, blackcurrant, apricot, raspberries, strawberries, dried fruits, apples, and pears.

Note that tropical fruits do not appear. This is because most tasters and evaluators,  are citizens or long time residents of western civilizations and  not familiar with tropical fruits. In essence wine and wine evaluation and description are western preoccupations.

Herbs – lavender, tea leaves, sage, marjoram, thyme, mint

Vegetables_ sweet peppers, olive, celery, cooked cabbage, truffles.

Note cooked cabbage flavours signifies faulty wine

Spice – back pepper, clove, liquorice, nutmeg, and cinnamon

Floral – lime, orange blossom, violet, clove, rose petals

Animal – leather, cat urine, damp fur, barnyard, tar,

Other favours- are toasted nuts, caramel, butter, vanilla, coffee, cocoa, smoke, dark chocolate

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“ God made cabernet sauvignon whereas the devil made pinot noir” Andre Tchelitcheff

“ The true pinot noir is one of the unmitigated joys of the experienced taster … it has a distinct and penetrating taste… a definite silky texture… among the dearest wins known, possessing a smoothness which by comparison makes some the great red wines of the world seem rough…, wines of great breed and distinction, great power”.

Professors’ emeriti Maynard Amerine and A. Winkler, University of California, Davis

The first quote above is that of a reputed winemaker, while the second is by world authorities on wine, and both encapsulate the essence of pinot noir.

It is definitely a cool region grape, with thin, translucent pale skin, prone to bunch rot and other diseases.

Pinot noir is sensitive to light exposure, cropping levels, yeast variety used for fermentation, has smaller leaves than cabernet sauvignon, but larger than those of syrah. Clusters are compact, small and cylindrical like a pine cone.

Pinot noir likes soils rich in lime and calcium that allow good drainage. The “terroir” (the combination) of soil type, climate, vineyard aspect) must be just right for it to yield high quality and characteristic fruit. In Burgundy, where it originates, vintage plays an important role and only approximately three to four vintages are capable of yielding high-quality fruit, and in knowledgeable hands of winemaker outstanding wines.

Pinot noir, when vented expertly from fruit of a successful vintage, smells of cherries, strawberries, raspberries, violets, rosemary, cinnamon, caraway, peppermint, beetroot, oregano, black olives, vanilla, mushrooms, earth, barnyard, truffle, toast, tar, cedar, and cigar box. It exudes voluptuous perfume, is seductive, “juicy”, mouth watering, and has sweet edge. In short, pinot noir from classified Burgundy vineyards is incomparable to any made elsewhere in teh world.

This should not be construed that pinot noir wines produced elsewhere in the world taste inferior. They can be fine, or even outstanding in their own right, but not the same.

Pinot noir is an ancient variety, possibly one or two generations removed from wild vines ad mutates easily. Pinot gris is thought to be a mutation, and pinot blanc may be a mutation of pinot gris.

There are also pinot moure, pinot tenturier, pinot Gouge (Henri Gouge a famous grower in Burgundy) a.k.a pinot Musigny, and pinot liebault, a high-yielding mutation.

The school of oenology of the University of Dijon selected many close that are numbered, ad did the research station in Wadenswill in Switzerland which are numbered and occasionally appear on technical information sheets of various wineries. Each of these clones has characteristics to suit soil types, ripening period, resistance to disease, temperature sensitivity, just to name a few. There are more than 56 officially recognized pinot noir clones whereas cabernet sauvignon has only 26.

In Burgundy, growers traditionally employ the concept of growing a range of clones on a

vineyard as an insurance against diseases, or ripening hazards; it is called selection massale. Pinot noir quality of fruit peaks after 15 – 20 years of planting. According to researchers, pinot noir has been cultivated in Burgundy since 100 A.D, more correctly the first records date back to that era.

Romans appreciated the smell and flavour of pinot noir wines, ad a few of emperors ordered vineyards uprooted to prevent competition between Roman and Burgundy wines, which they called Burdigalia.

The very best pinot noir grows on a narrow (1.5 – 2 km.) and 60 Km. long slope called Cote d’Or (Golden Slope) in Burgundy where appellation classification escalates from Bourgogne, Bourgogne Village, Commune, Premier cru vineyard and grand cru vineyard, whereas in Bordeaux classification is by estate.
In total, Cote d’Or has 4500 hectares planted to pinot noir, Maconnais and Challonais, two sub-regions of Burgundy, have a combined acreage of 4000 hectares.

The harvest window of pinot noir is narrow and the ripe fruit must be harvested within a few days, or the must smells and tastes “jammy”.

There is no standard formula to making pinot noir. Each vintage requires a different approach to coax the best of this “fickle” grape variety. In some cases, a long period of soaking to extract more colour and flavour, and tannins may be required, or a hot but short fermentation, or relatively cool and long one, punching the cap down daily or more frequently. The list goes on.

In Burgundy, only one grape is used for red wine; pinot noir, and blending may occur between the crops of vineyards or blocks of one vineyard, except for passé-tout-grains which must contain a minimum of 33 per cent pinot noir, and the rest gamay.

A truly exceptional pinot noir from Burgundy is a vinous revelation a taster rarely forgets. At the same time, a truly fine Burgundy (red or white), is expensive because of its rarity.

Because pinot noir is such a precious grape variety, many growers in other regions of France and clergy planted it in other countries.  St. Bernard de Clairvaux,a Cistercian monk, took pinot noir to Germany early in the 12^th century. Today, Germany, where it is called spatburgunder, has thousands of hectares of pinot noir vineyards in the Pfalz, Rheingau, Baden Wurttemberg and the Ahr Valley.

Some German pinot noirs from Rheingau compete successfully with those of Burgundy. Within France, Loire, Alsace, Jura, and even Languedoc have hundreds of hectares of pinot noir vineyards.

This capricious grape is also planted in northern Italy, here called pinot nero, in Switzerland (Valais and Graubunden), Austria, Hungary (here called nagyburgundi), Croatia, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, even in Spain on high altitude vineyards in Penedes. In North America,

Canada, Ontario, and British Columbia, and the U S A there is considerable pinot noir acreage in California, Oregon, Washington State, and New York State.

In Canada Ontario grows very fine pinot noir, followed by British Columbia’s Okanagan valley.

In California, Los Carneros, climatically influenced by the Bay of San Francisco, is a cool climate region and yields fine fruit. There are several wineries that make outstanding pinot noir.

Oregon also makes very fine pinot noir wines; some compete successfully with Burgundian reds. At least one Burgundy shipper was so impressed with Oregon that he (Joseph Drouhin) purchased suitable land and created an estate solely devoted to producing pinot noir. In South America, Argentina, Chile, and even Brazil produce pinot noir.

South Africa is also a producer.

The cool regions of Australia i.e Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Tasmania, and Western Australia produce fine pinot noir wines, and New Zealand in Otago on the south Island and Marlborough and Nelson are well known for their fine pinot noirs.

The more you know about pinot noir, and the more you taste, the more you start appreciating this inimitable grape variety.

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Germans call pinot noir spatburgunder, literally late ripening red Burgundy, as opposed to early ripening Burgundy (fruhburgunder) version, which they also plant, but use it for blending only.

We know that Cistercian monks from Switzerland planted the first pinot noir. German Duke Berthold IV of Zehringen brought the vines to Germany and asked the good monks to plant them. The Cistercian monks’ order originates in Citeaux, Burgundy, and they were responsible for much of the good work accomplished in Burgundy with regard to establishing the best soil types, best sites and vitivinicultural practices at that time.

The Cistercian monastery in Malterdingen was founded in 1161. Vineyards on calcareous soils surrounded it with this capricious, thin-skinned, and late ripening variety. By all accounts, this vineyard still produces outstanding pinot noir in Germany.

The first large-scale plantings in Germany occurred in 1285, and now the country has 12 000 hectares spatburgunder vineyards third after Burgundy, France, and the U S A.

Before 1970, the Ahr Valley in northerh Germany had exclusively pinot noir vineyards that produced very pale, and delicate wines. Climate changes made german vienaydrs a little warmer, resulting in much better and better-balanced spatburgunder wines.

Today, the Rheigau, 200 km. East of Cote d’Or, harvests spatburgunder only five to seven days later than in Burgundy, and growers wait until grapes acquire sufficiently high sugar levels to quality for spatlese (late harvest) quality. In German wine law, quality is linked to natural sugar content ogf the fruit.

Wurttemberg and the Ahr Valley produce more red wine than white, and they are getting better at vinifying.

Kaiserstuhl on the east bank of the Rhine River is potentially and excellent region for pinot noir, and more and more wineries including co-operatives are producing pinot noir. Many of the young winemakers are university educated (Geisenheim, or Montpellier, or Dijon, or the U S A) and serve a “specialization” stint to Burgundy to learn from more experienced winemakers.

Recently, I tasted pinot noir from Rheigau that could be mistaken for a high-end red Burgundy, and the best thing about these wines is that they cost a fraction of their brethren from Burgundy.

Here are some producers that excel in making spatburgunder:Rainer Schnaitmann (Unterturkheim); Klaus-Peter Keller, (Dalsheim, Rheinhessen); August Kesseler (Rheingau); Fritz Becker, (Palatinate); Paul Furst (Franconia); Bernard Huber, Rainhold Scheider (Baden); and Werner Knipser (Palatinate).

All of the above are small quality-oriented, if not obsessed, wineries, and rarely export to Canada.

If you happen to be in Germany and close to the region, book an appointment with any of the wineries and taste their wines. You will be pleasantly surprised.

There are two more red grape varieties that deserve mention dornfelder, (a cross of helfensteiner itself a cross between fruhburgunder and trollinger, and Heroldrebe, a cross of blauer portugieser and lemberger), is a red-fleshed grape yielding dark red juice. It is an early ripening variety, crossbred by August Herold in 1955 at Wurttemberg’s Weinsburg Institute.

Regent is a relatively new hybrid of Diana (silvaner and Muller-Thurgau) and chambourcin. It resists fungal diseases and downy mildew, and was created by professor Gerhard Alleweldt at the Geilweilerhof Institute in 1967, but was only released in 1996.

Lemberger (a.k.a blaufrankisch in Austria, kekfrankos in Hungary) is widely planted. It is dark-skinned, ripens late, contains high levels of tannins, and yields fruity, spicy and masculine wines. Planted in Wurttemberg (Germany), Austria, the U S A, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia and Italy.

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Long celebrated for its fine sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and pinot gris, New Zealand is now turning heads with its pinot noir, merlot and blends.

Standing apart from most New World wine regions, the climate is cooler and winemakers approach the craft definitively with 21st century technology and mentality. They create red wines that harmonize traditional elegance with contemporary tastes, and wine enthusiasts the worlds over have decided to enjoy them.

New Zealand vineyards get plenty of sunshine but are considerably cooler than those in Australia due to the ocean surrounding both islands. Vineyards are scientifically planted, and managed to yield the best quality fruit possible.

Winemakers aim to produce high quality, because the output is small and must offer an incentive to consumers to buy. Prices are reasonable.

New Zeeland’s pinot noir wines are closer in style to Burgundy red than elsewhere in the world. The cool maritime climate imparts bright acidity, with cherry, berry, plum and pomegranate flavours.

Central Otago in the south island has a short time, become the centre of New Zealand pinot noir production, but central Otago is not the only region that excels in pinot noir. Nelson, adjacent to Marlborough, also produces fine pinot noir wines.
Merlot from Hawkes Bay in the north island is full-bodied, always well balanced, fruit-driven and elegant. They are very approachable in their youth, but can also be cellared for a few years.

Syrah is the “new” red grape of New Zealand, and Hawkes Bay has already been recognized to produce some of the best in the land. Elephant Hill, a German-owned and managed winery, produced northern Cotes du Rhone style syrah that is remarkable.

Here are the red wines of this year’s New Zealand tasting in Toronto:

Pinot Noir, 2006, Carrick, Central Otago
Complex aromas of dark fruit flavours with bitter chocolate overtones. The finish is long an satisfying.
$ 35.95 available at Vintages

Pinot Noir, 2006, Schubert, Martinborough
This small, family-operates winery’s pinot noir can be favourably compared to any Cote de Beaune 1er cru. It is brilliant in colour, smells of strawberries, tastes “juicy” and in the mouth reveals a layered texture.
92/100

Merlot, 2007, Ngatarawa Stables, Hawkes Bay
Easy drinking, mid-weight crimson-coloured, smells of berries, and displays spicy flavours.
90/100
Available at Vintages

Merlot, 2007, Coopers Creek, Hawkes Bay
This brilliant wine includes 12 per cent malbec, is fruity (raspberry and plum) and complex, with fine tannins.
89/100

Syrah, 2008, Elephant Hills, Hawkes Bay
From a new German-owned and managed winery, this syrah seduces the nose with pepper and fruit aromas, buttressed with refined tannins and pleasant acidity.
91/100
$ 28.95
Agency HHD Imports info”hhdimprots.com

Soultaker Pinot Noir, 2007, Gibbotson Highgate Estate, Central Otago
An excellent example of a fine pinot noir. Smells of strawberries dominate. Full bodied, dark, nuanced and long in the finish.
90é100
$ 45.00
Agent : laura.higgins”simpatico.ca

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Felton Road Pinot Noir 2007.

Felton Road is one of New Zealand`s best producers. Located in Bannockburn, Central Otago, its vineyards nestle on a gentle north-facing slope between 200m and 335m and overshadowed by 2,000m mountains, their micro-climate benefits from low humidity, wide diurnal temperature variation and high sunshine hours.

This wine is among the 50 best new world pinot noir and the palate displays a plush, cushioned silkiness, with interplay of juicy, mouthwatering acid and ripe, rich raspberry and boysenberry fruit, offset with dusty bramble leaf. The finish is long and relatively complex for such a youthful wine, displaying minerals with dusty tannin and a kick of mocha and we absolutely love it!

Have you tasted this or another wine, you are welcome to add a dice/review in our wine guide
Winesworld.

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PINOT NOIR.

The true pinot noir is one of the unmitigated joys of the experienced taster… it has a distinct penetrating taste… a definite silky texture… among the dearest wines known, possessing a smoothness which by comparison makes some of the other great red wines of the world rough… wines of great breed and distinction, great power.
Dr. M. Amerine and A J Winkler

The much admired and venerable pinot noir is wholly responsible for the truly great red wines of Burgundy, specifically of Côte d’Or, a strip of land barely 70 km long and approximately 800 meters wide.
The best vineyards have a southeastern exposure and the very best are located on 300 – 400 meters above sea level of this generally cool-climate region.
Pinot noir yields, if grown on the “right terroir” (rich in minerals, soils mixed with chalk and pebbles and which drain well) are sensual, transparent, whereas cabernet sauvignon the venerable grape of Bordeaux appeals to the “head”.
There are very few grape varieties capable of reflecting “terroir” and pinot noir is one of them Outside Côte d’Or it may yield fine wines, if the soil and climate are suitable, but never great or extraordinary libations as in Burgundy.
Pinot noir has thin skin, tends to mutate easily, is prone to a variety of diseases, is low in tannins, and never responds well to over cropping.
Entire books have been written on pinot noir and both Montpellier and Dijon research stations have devoted considerable effort to creating clones with desirable characteristics, but best red Burgundy wines come from vineyards planted to selection massal, that means, roughly, as nature intended. Some of the clones on such vineyards are disease resistant; others yield fine fruit even in poor growing seasons, yet others may have high yields with good quality. Overall the balance is left to mother nature.
Recently, a team of French and Italian scientists have mapped the genome of pinot noir and determined that it has 30,000 genes, more than the human genome of 20, – 25,000. Genes create flavour and in the case of pinot noir 100 different genes seem to be dedicated to producing tannins and terpenes while other grapes have 50 or less.

Flavour depends much on terroir, but pinot noir possesses all on its own a huge range of aromas and flavours. Burgundy connoisseurs have known for centuries about the seductive and extraordinary flavours of this temperamental grape, and spared no effort to obtain the most famous bottles from single vineyard (grand cru) and communes with worldwide reputations for quality.
Pinot noir is the first, and so far, the only grape variety whose DNA and genome have been fully studied for over two years.
Growers, winemakers and connoisseurs regard pinot noir as the most difficult and fickle of all red wine grapes. When fully ripe, it yields flirtatious, voluptuous, hedonistic, beguiling, silky, seductive, “juicy” and sumptuous wines. It can be delicate, mysterious, indescribable and utterly delicious. Some of the most profound wine experiences transpire over a glass of well-made pinot noir.
This cool climate grape is vulnerable to frosts, and its thin skin is prone to rot in damp weather.
When overripe it tastes neutral, even insipid. It likes well drained, lime stone rich soils and is extremely sensitive even to the strain of yeast used for fermentation.
When pinot is from a successful vintage and made by an experienced and caring winemaker it is unequalled.
Pinot noir has now been planted in many other regions of France including the Loire Valley, Languedoc and Roussillon.
Ontario, British Columbia, Oregon, California, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, and Spain have all vineyards planted to pinot noir. In Oregon, Ontario, southern Argentina, New Zealand, and Tasmania in Australia yields extraordinary wines, which are sought in many countries.
In Ontario Clos Jordanne produces extraordinary pinot noirs, as does Konzelmann.
Oregon, New Zealand’s Otago, Marlborough, in Australia Tasmania and Yarra Valley in Victoria are well known for their fine pinot noirs.
The Champagne region in France has made fortunes using pinot noir in conjunction with chardonnay. Prince Edward County, approximately 150 km east of Toronto produces some outstanding pinot noir wines in very small quantities and can be acquired only from the winery.
Romans were the first to recognize how great pinot noir tastes and as early as first century A.D planted pinot noir as archeologists have been able to establish.
Bernard de Clairvoix, a Cistercian monk was the first to plant pinot noir in Germany, and which yield fine wines.
Pinot noir goes well with planked salmon, grilled or BBQ salmon, paella, roast pork tenderloin, roasted root vegetables, calf’s liver, soft cream cheeses, thin-crust pizzas, or veal scaloppini.
Pinot noir wines of successful vintages smell of forest mushrooms, barnyards and strawberries. They are succulent, elegant, multilayered in the mouth delicious after taste.
When buying red Burgundies one must take into consideration the vintage. The same applies to Oregon, Tasmania, and Ontario.
Here are some pinot noir wines that I find very compelling.

Chambolle-Musigny, 2002, Taupenot-Merme $ 53.95

Savigny Les Beaune, 2002, Chateau de Meursault $ 29.95

Mas Barras Pinot Noir, 2004, M. Torres, Chile 29.95
Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir, 2004, Otago, New Zealand $ 37.95

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