Made famous by the movie Sideways, Pinot Noir has become the favored wine in popular culture. But Miles wasn’t kidding when he said it’s a difficult grape to grow. It’s thin-skinned, susceptible to disease, and can’t bare too much sun-exposure. And because of this fragile quality, Pinot Noir has become known as the “headache” grape amongst vintners. But if those vintners practice patience, and pay attention to those tight clusters and petite buds, it will produce a red wine that speaks eloquently of soft tannins and subtle fruits. Indeed, it is the great grape of Burgundy, used in such famous wines as Pommapd, Nuits-St-Georges, Gevrey-Chambertin, and is one of the primary grapes used in traditional Champagne. Now a staple single-varietal in the New World winemaking culture, our New World has its own Pinot Noir voice expressed differently from region to region.
