Raising Pinot
Pinot Noir is mysterious and fickle. As a rule, grapes grow well in poor conditions, but Pinot Noir is the epitome of finicky. It likes the fringes, and makes the grape grower work hard. If you look at all the best Pinot Noir regions in the world, you will find that they are all on the outskirts: the Otago region in New Zealand is the most southern grape-growing region in the world( followed closely by Patagonia, Argentina); Niagara and Oregon are at the limits of northern grape growing with their short seasons; and Burgundy has one slope that runs for 40 kilometres in a marginal-continental climate that produces some of the best( and most expensive) Pinot Noir in the world. Pinot grapes produce the best wines when they have a long growing season and grapes can be picked into the late fall. But in these climates, Pinot Noir acts like a petulant toddler— you never know what you are going to get out of it.
Pinot Noir is mysterious and fickle. As a rule, grapes grow well in poor conditions, but Pinot Noir is the epitome of finicky.
The Reward
All wine nerds have their sights set on the Pinot Noir grape because, when the stars align, that is when the magic happens, and the wine becomes more than just wine. It becomes magical; it becomes hedonistic; it is no longer known as Pinot Noir, but by its proper name: Echézeaux, Gervrey Chambertin. It has scent and a feeling that embodies the French word terroir, where you can actually taste and feel where the wine comes from. These fantasy Pinot Noirs can be big and brooding with dark blue fruits, firm tannins, and long, lingering acidity; or they can be full of strawberry and raspberry with floral and perfume notes that are light and dance on the palate.
Even if you have the perfect vintage, your heartache does not end in the vineyard. The Pinot Noir grape has a notoriously thin skin, the acidity of the grape falls off like it is a 10-metre platform diver, and the slightest rain at harvest will make it swell up, diluting the juice and ruining the harvest. It is more emotional than a teenager going through puberty.
But like any child, if you treat it well and manage to provide the perfect conditions for its upbringing, you might have something that you can be proud of in the end— as long as you don’ t mess up the higher education: winemaking. Yes, this part is as precarious as the growing stage— with the chance of producing thin, acidic wines or overripe, flat wines that don’ t taste like any of the characteristics of fine Pinot Noir. It can be over oaked, or under oaked, and can live in the bottle for a week, or for a lifetime.
Vines among the world’ s best Pinot Noir at Bannockburn Vineyards, New Zealand
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