About Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is a red wine grape variety responsible for some of the world's finest wines.

The first mention of the variety comes from the Roman writer, Columella who described a grape variety of Burgundy in the 1st century A.D. that may very well be Pinot Noir.  The name is French for "pine" and "black" and comes from the varietals' tightly clustered dark purple pine cone shaped bunches. Contrary to it’s name the wine produced by the Pinot Noir grape is lighter in color than many of the red wines favored by wine lovers. This grape also plays a vital role in the production of Champagne, particularly Blanc de Noir.

The variety is famous for being a fickle grape that demands optimum growing conditions and requires special attention and care from the winemaker. Due to its sensitive nature, Pinot Noir is produced in much smaller quantities than other popular red wines. As a result consumers will often pay a little more for Pinot Noir.

Regions

Pinot Noir thrives in the cooler wine regions of the world.  The grapes call for warm days consistently supported by cool evenings. The grapes are grown around the world, but the grape is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France. It is also planted in Austria, Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Moldova, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States.

Over the past two decades, the United States has become a major Pinot Noir producer.  The finest Pinot Noir in the United States is produced in the California's Sonoma County with its Russian River, Sonoma Coast, and Los Carneros Appellations; the Central Coast's Santa Lucia Highlands, and the South Coast’s Santa Rita Hills region in Santa Barbara County, and the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

Characteristics of the Wine

Pinot Noir is among the most popular wines in the world. Joel Fleischman of Vanity Fair describes Pinot Noir as "the most romantic of wines, with so voluptuous a perfume, so sweet an edge, and so powerful a punch that, like falling in love, they make the blood run hot and the soul wax embarrassingly poetic." Garnet best describes the color of Pinot Noir. The wines are substantially lighter when compared to the deep purple of Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah. The young Pinot Noir can be fresh, accessible, and easy to drink. The wine tends to be light to medium in body. It is generally fruity with notes of raspberry, current, cherry, strawberry, plum, or tealeaf. The tannins are very soft and the wines frequently show ample amounts of acid. This makes Pinot Noir especially well suited to pairing with a wide range of foods.

On the other hand, some regions and styles vary significantly from this description. These wines can age for decades and take on decided notes of earth, spice and anise. Hints of earth and mushroom are mostly associated with the wines produced in Burgundy. In recent years a new style has appeared in California and New Zealand that is more powerful, fruit forward, lower in acid, and darker in color than it’s Oregon and French cousins. These wines are designed more for sipping than as a companion to food.

The Vineyard

Great Pinot Noir is born in the vineyard. The varietal is highly reflective of it’s terroir with different regions producing very different wines. The leaves of the Pinot Noir are smaller than the Cabernet Sauvignon although larger than the Syrah. The grape cluster is small and cylindrical, vaguely shaped like a pinecone. The Pinot Noir tends to produce narrow trunks and branches. In the vineyard it is sensitive to light exposure, soil types and pruning techniques. The vines themselves are prone to midlew, leaf roll, and fanleaf. These complications have given the grape the reputation of being difficult to grow. The result is the best Pinot Noir is produced when crop levels are kept low at
3 -5 tons per acre adding to the higher cost of producing the wine.

The Grape

Pinot Noir is an ancient variety that has changed very little from its wild ancestor. The vines until recently continued to grow wild throughout France and Belgium. The vines are genetically Vitis vinifera, but their appearance differs from the vinifera of southern Europe and the grape may have been domesticated independently. Pinot Noir is prone to mutation and as a result of the grapes long association with human beings hundreds of different clones are to be found today. Over 500 clones are known to exist compared to only approximately 20 of the much more widely planted Cabernet Sauvignon. Until the past 30 years older clones, such as Pommard and Beringer were the only vines available in America. However, recently the popularity of Dijon clones helped transform the wines of the United States into world class wines. The diversity of clones has resulted in Pinot Noir of greater complexity and depth. Other popular clones now produced in the United States include: 777, 113, 114, 115, 667, 37, Martini, Ponzi, 7,
and V.

Winemaking

In the winery Pinot Noir is known for being sensitive to fermentation methods and aging choices available to the winemaker. Pinot Noir requires special attention and is much more susceptible to damage from poor technique and rough handling. The best Pinot Noir is picked carefully at night or early in the morning to assure freshness insuring less bruising of the fruit. In the winery the grapes are sorted to eliminate damaged grapes, leaves, or excess stems. Pinot Noir Winemakers often chose not to crush the berries. The grapes are separated from the stems but are left uncrushed. This minimizes harm to the berries and maximizes juice to skin contact.

The berries are placed in small open-top fermenters. The juice and skins soak for three to seven days at a cool temperature before fermentation begins. The "cold soak" is used to extract color, flavor and tannins from the skins. Fermentation is dependent upon yeast. Some winemakers use only the natural yeast that is present on the skins. Others swear by the many different yeasts strains that are commercially available. The primary fermentation takes from 10 to 21 days to complete. During this period the grapes receive a gentle "punch down" several times a day during fermentation. Other winemakers will pump juice over the skins to achieve the same outcome. The use of insulated fermenters permits the heat to rise in the fermenting juice to extract the maximum flavor from the fruit. Once fermentation begins, the developing wine and cap are tended daily and temperature levels monitored and adjusted as the sugars convert to alcohol.

After primary fermentation, the wine and skins are pressed. A minimum amount of pressure is used to press the skins ensuring the best flavors and minimizing the extraction of bitter components into the wine. At this time the wine is placed into oak barrels and aged up from 12 - 18 months. At Lost Canyon Winery we exclusively use French Oak barrels on our Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir goes through a secondary fermentation process while in the barrel. This is known as malolactic fermentation and it converts the malic acid to softer lactic acid. Throughout the aging process every precaution is taken to avoid handling wine harshly or introducing excess oxygen to the wine. The barrels are topped off every two to three weeks as natural evaporation occurs. The wines are either left alone for the entire aging process or, as we at Lost Canyon prefer, the wine is racked and separated from the lees two times throughout the 12 – 18 month aging. At these times all precautions are taken to treat the wine gently. When the wine is racked gravity or gently pumping with the pressure of nitrogen is used to move the wine. Finally, the wine is blended from the different barrels and bottled.

Learn about the Russian River Valley and Los Carneros appellations.