5 Curious Facts about Pinot Noir
One of the most popular red varieties is the Pinot Noir. In fact, not so long ago, a Romanée-Conti bottle from the 1945 harvest was sold for the record amount of US$ 558.000 at an auction in Sotheby’s. To better understand this intriguing variety, we bring you 5 curious facts that will make you want to give Pinot Noir a try.
- A brief history
Pinot Noir is originally from Burgundy, one of the most celebrated wine regions of the world, and the variety is one of the most ancient; the first record is dated back to 1345.
This grape’s wine proprieties are known since roman times, when the wine production fell into the hands of the Catholic Church, the monks kept good track of the grape’s quality until it became one of the most renowned varieties in Burgundy.
- Basic characteristics
One of the most important characteristics of the Pinot Noir is its light body and low-medium level of tannins.
It’s a wine with a delicate ruby red color that displays aromas of cherries, strawberries and raspberries with soft spicy hints; some may present also some earthy tones. It is fresh on the palate with a silky texture.
It pairs very well with fish like tuna and salmon, and some light flavored cheeses. It could also pair nicely with chicken, duck and pork.
- It is a tricky grape to grow
This variety’s grape bunch is very tight, and it is formed like a pine (that’s why it is called Pinot) and this, together with its thin skin, make it very vulnerable to fungal diseases and other plagues.
It is also offers very little resistance to high temperatures and excessive sunlight, which is why it grows best in more temperate climates. In Chile, it has found the ideal terroir in San Antonio and Casablanca valleys, due to their very specific combination of soil, climate and maritime influence of the Humboldt Current that lowers the temperatures in the Chilean coastal areas.
- Where does it grow?
Besides Burgundy, the Pinot Noir is produced in Germany, the US, Australia, Argentina and Chile, to mentioned a few.
- Pinot Noir, cinema and Chile
Finally, we have to mention that Pinot Noir has a whole movie dedicated to it: Sideways, launched in 2004, an endearing movie that features a wine lover called Miles that cannot get enough of Pinot Noir.
The movie is based in the novel written by Rex Pickett, that continued the saga with the novels Vertical (2011) and Sideways 3 Chile (2015). His love for Chile started back in 2012 when he first visited the country; and continued to grow as he continued to visit in 2016 and again in 2017. In his last trip, he had the opportunity to visit Cono Sur’s vineyards. Cono Sur later sponsored his adaptation of Sideways to theater in Sonoma, California.
These are just some fun facts that will make your next Pinot Noir experience unique. And remember to serve it at 14°C, temperature that will allow you to fully appreciate this grape’s unique characteristics.