WineInk: Pondering pinot
Sandhi WInes/Courtesy photo
If you are a skier, then you aspire to conquer Aspen. If you are a surfer, then you head to the north shore of Oahu. And if your passion is wine, then the Burgundy region of France — home to the most desirable, collectable, and soulful wines on the planet — pulls the heartstrings of most.
If you have ever been to Burgundy, it no doubt left a mark that will linger forever. Located in eastern France, just south of the city of Dijon, Burgundy is beloved for making delectable red wines from the pinot noir grape. The region has been home to the wines made from pinot noir, or its ancestor grapes, since the second century AD. The Romans prized the wine during their days there, but it was Cistercians, a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns who branched off from the Benedictines, who began to really explore, and perfect, pinot noir in the Middle Ages.
Today — a couple of millennia later — pinot noir grows in vineyards around the globe, and the wines made from the grape reflect both the heritage of its origins, as well as that of the places it is now grown.
I was thinking about pinot’s role in the wine world the other day after reading that this was the 20th anniversary of Alexander Payne’s “Sideways,” a film that was responsible for a dramatic increase in the sales of California pinot noir wines when it first came out.
Released in 2004, “Sideways” follows the misadventures of two boorish buddies who decide a trip to wine country would make the perfect setting for a little boy-bonding. The film features a number of Santa Barbara vineyards (Andrew Murray), wineries (Fess Parker), and restaurants (The Hitching Post) as locations, but for the most part, it revolves around the mid-life failures of the two protagonists.
But there is an unforgettable scene where actor Paul Giamatti delivers a beautifully written soliloquy about his attraction to pinot noir that lingers to this day and makes the film an important part of the domestic history of the grape. In the fireside speech, Miles (Giamatti’s character) speaks to a beautiful Virginia Madsen about the finicky nature of the grape and how delicate and difficult it is to grow, arguing that it is the underdog of grapes.
“It’s thin-skinned and temperamental. It ripens early … it’s not a survivor like cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and thrive, even though it’s neglected. No, pinot needs constant care and attention. In fact, it can only grow in these specific, tucked-away corners of the world,” he said. “And only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it. Only somebody who really takes the time to understand pinot’s potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. And then there are the flavors … they are just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and … ancient … on the planet.”
Beautiful stuff. And that part about only growing in tucked away corners is really interesting.
Today, pinot noir is a global grape. While the Burgundy region remains the largest and most famed producer of pinot noir, the West Ccoast of the United States produces tons of the stuff. Pinot thrives in the cool-climate, coastal regions of California and Oregon.
Pinot noir likes sunshine but not too much heat because, as Miles noted, it is thin-skinned and can burn easily. This means that California coastal regions like the Sta. Rita Hills, just north of Santa Barbara, the Santa Lucia Highlands, and the Sonoma Coast — all places that get abundant sunshine but are influenced by the fog as it floats in during the summer months to cool the coastline — are perfect spots for nurturing pinot noir.
Further north, in Oregon’s Willamette Valley just south of Portland, the grape has found a home in a region that also basks in abundant sunshine but has cooler temperatures thanks not only to the influence of the Pacific Ocean, but also its more northerly location. Many say that the Willamette has more in common, terroir-wise, with Burgundy than the regions to the south in neighboring California. In 1987, the Drouhins, a prominent wine family in Burgundy, purchased property in the valley and created Domaine Drouhin as their American outpost for producing Oregon pinot noir.
And those aren’t the only pinot pockets on the planet. In the southern hemisphere, Australia is home to up-and-coming cool climate pinot-centric wine regions, including the Mornington Peninsula not far from Melbourne and Tasmania, or “Tassie” as the Aussies call it. It’s one of the southernmost wine-producing locations on earth. Both are heavily influenced by the surrounding seas.
Neighboring New Zealand is famed for its Sauvignon Blanc, but the bulk of the twin islands’ red wine production comes from pinot noir. The Central Otago region on the South Island is one of the great pinot areas on earth, as well as being perhaps the most beautiful.
As we get closer to Thanksgiving, this may be a fine time to pick out a selection of global pinot wines for your holiday habits.
Or just take a trip to Burgundy.
