Bob on Sonoma: Why Pinot Noir is So Popular

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Why Pinot Noir is So Popular

Pinot Noir has been the darling of the American wine world for a couple of decades. Why is it so popular? The previous post, Why Pinot Noir Is So Expensive, touched on its popularity related to price increases over the past several years. This post will be about why everyone loves Pinot.

Merry Edwards retired and sold her namesake
winery a few years ago, but left it in good hands
She is known as the Queen of Pinot Noir

For review, some key information from that previous post

California tonnage of Pinot Noir grapes harvested by year:

1995 29,000
2000 53,000
2005 95,000
2010 148,000
2023 288,000

History

Merlot sales took off in the '90s after the 60 Minutes The French Paradox piece on red wine and health. People went for Merlot because it was cheaper than Cabernet, but mostly because it was immediately drinkable when compared to a young tannic Cab. Alas, there was too much demand for the supply, and Merlot quality suffered. There was a lot of bad wine labeled Merlot in the later '90s.

Then along came Pinot Noir to pick up where Merlot failed. Pinot had been in California for a long time, buy most of it wasn't particularly good. I think people didn't know how and where to grow it, and definitely didn't seem to know how to make it. In the '90s you could start to see the change as the knowledge spread on creating top quality Pinot.

The movie Sideways gets the credit for Pinot Noir's rise to fame, and the movie no doubt helped. But as you can see from the list of grape tonnage harvested by year above, Pinot was rising fast before the movie came out in late 2004.

What People Like About Pinot Wine

Pinot Noir is a lighter, easy drinking red wine, characteristics are similar to Merlot. It has good acid to make it great with food and low tannins to make it drinkable when young. Because of the acid and being a lighter red means it's more enjoyable in warm weather than a heavy Cabernet or Syrah might be. You can enjoy it with or without food, making it usable in different situations.

What is really special is the depth and complexity of a good Pinot. There's fruit, earthiness, and spices all in different proportions depending on the particular wine and the age of the wine. Arguably, Pinot is the most interesting of all the major varietals.

What People Like About the Pinot Grape

Pinot Noir on the vine is susceptible to sunlight and heat, so minor fluctuations make noticeable changes in the wine. This means where it is grown matters, getting the right microclimate for a vineyard is key. Pinot is hard to grow, it's a pain, it's temperamental, it's almost magic when you open a perfect bottle.

Pinot mutates easily, meaning there are lots of different clones. And the clones can be strikingly different. All wine grapes mutate slowly and have slight variations, but Pinot really stands out here. There are about 1,000 clones of Pinot Noir. About 50 of those are used commercially.

With the popularity of Pinot we started hearing about clones like 777 and Pommard (named after a French village) plus heritage clones from specific California growers such as Martini and Swan. I've had 777 and Pommard from the same vineyard and same vintage in the Russian River Valley as a blend and as separate bottlings. There is a huge difference between the two clones. Triple-seven is all about red fruit, dark color, deep flavors, and is somewhat simple. Pommard is meaty, with mushrooms and other earthy characteristics, with no so much fruit. Winemakers usually, but not always, combine clones to get a certain style of wine with more complexity than a single clone Pinot.

What I Hate About Pinot Noir

The prices. You gotta be kiddin' me? Wine from popular producers that were priced in the $40s not too many years ago are now in the $70s. I've had $100 Pinots that I wouldn't pay ten bucks for. I feel I've been priced out of much of the premium Pinot market. But my search will continue!

Modern Food Pairings

Over the last few decades, there has been a trend toward healthier cuisine, from more chicken and fish to vegetarian meals. Good ol' Cabernet doesn't often go well with these meals, but a lighter red like Pinot Noir is just the ticket.

Pinot Noir can pair with pork and chicken, especially if they are roasted or grilled, with or without a BBQ sauce. Almost any dish with mushrooms works, including pizza. Subbing in ground turkey instead of beef for your burger? Pinot Noir. Lamb, more flavorful fish such as Salmon, and lighter cuts of beef. Of course, Beef Bourguignon. Bourguignon means Burgundy-style cooking and is the home of Pinot Noir. Beef Bourguignon is beef stew with a lot of Pinot Noir added. You probably learned that from Julia Child. :)