Why Bother With A Difficult Grape?

Tasty Results, Of Course

The popularity of the movie Sideways has not only been beneficial to the producers and stars of the film. The producers of Pinot Noir are also seeing a surprising interest in their previously neglected wine.

Pinot Noir is a red grape that produces a light to medium-bodied, dry red wine with cherry flavors. The best Pinot Noir is often described in exalted terms that may or may not have anything to do with what the wine actually tastes like.

It is a difficult grape to grow and it is sometimes referred to as the headache grape by winemakers. Pinot Noir does not give winemakers a headache when they drink it, only when they are trying to make a great bottle of wine out of this notoriously tricky little grape.

So why do winemakers bother with such a difficult grape? When winemakers succeed, Pinot Noir delivers subtlety and complexity in a wine that is unmatched.

The most famous Pinot Noir comes from the Burgundy region of France. The Burgundies of 2002 that should soon be appearing on store shelves are very highly acclaimed. They are also not cheap.

Other regions noted for Pinot Noir include Oregon’s Willamette Valley, California’s Carneros region, and New Zealand.

The best Pinot Noir are lighter reds yet still loaded with flavor. It is also easy to overpower the delicate fruit flavors with oak. The best wines balance the fruit and oak and exhibit wonderfully complex flavors. Pinot Noir would also be a perfect match for that Easter ham.

It would be surprising to ever see Pinot Noir achieve the popularity of Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. However, finding great Pinot Noir has certainly become a Holy Grail like quest for many discriminating wine drinkers.

*Recently tasted and enjoyed: David Bruce Winery is located in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains. It has been making excellent Pinot Noir since 1964.

Its Santa Cruz Pinot Noir is a beautiful example of the complex flavors that the best Pinot Noir can deliver. It retails for about $30 for a 750 ml bottle.

(Newtown resident and wine enthusiast Steve Small is the general manager at Yankee Wine & Spirits on Queen Street.)