Tag Archives: Pinot
I Love Australian Wine – A Pinot Noir From Southeastern Australia
This is our second review of Australian wine in only a few weeks. You may realize that Australia is a major wine exporter in particular supplying the United States and the United Kingdom. While this wine was bottled in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales in Australia’s southwest, the grapes come from the Geographical Indication of Beechworth in New South Wales neighbor, Victoria. Beechworth was once a great place to dig for gold and is now considered a fine wine region, especially for Chardonnay and fortified wines. If money is no object search out Giaconda’s wines, including their Pinot Noir.
Wine Reviewed Pinot Noir New South Wales (Brokenwood Winery) 2005 14.0% alcohol about $ 20 There were no marketing materials so I’ll quote the back label. “This Pinot Noir is sourced from Victoria’s exciting Beechworth region, in the lower region of the Alpine Valleys. A very hot, dry season giving concentrated flavors… This is a ripe style with background French Oak and sappy/cherry Pinot fruit. The palate has strawberry flavors and lingering soft tannins. Drink over the short term with duck and Asian dishes. Our wines are now sealed with screw cap to guarantee quality and consistency.” Re screw caps: I want to mention that when I used adjustable pliers the bottle opened nicely. And now for my review.
At the first sips the wine was quite powerful with good length and tobacco but no tannins. Its first pairing was with an over dry commercially barbecued chicken breast but its paprika-dusted skin was nice and moist. This Pinot Noir was very present with some chocolate. With the tastier chicken leg it was excessively acidic. On the upside, this wine was chewy and mouth filling. Once again there was tobacco and no tannins.
The next meal involved a middle-eastern specialty known as kube, ground beef in crushed bulgar jackets accompanied by Swiss Chard and a slightly sour, delicious broth. This Pinot Noir was thick. I even got a taste of tar and black licorice. There was a lot of body but, at the risk of repetition, there were no tannins. They didn’t seem to be missing. I tasted dark fruit, especially black cherries. I finished the meal with smoked almonds and tasted tobacco and some earth.
My final meal involved fatty beef ribs cooked slowly with soft wheat kernels and accompanied by a moderately spicy guacamole. The Pinot Noir was round and thick with a lot of oak and a good length. Its acidity worked well with the meat’s grease. Not only the meat was chewy and it presented black, black cherries. The wine retained some power and all of its length when paired with the guacamole.
Before starting on the traditional two cheeses I enjoyed some Matjes herring. The wine was long, balanced, and mouth filling. The herring did not get in the way. A local Provolone actually weakened this Pinot Noir at first its acidity became slightly harsh. A tastier Swiss slightly weakened the wine, which was still powerful and long, oaky with the taste of tobacco.
Final verdict. This wine is definitely worth buying again and again. Next time I won’t waste it on the cheese. And maybe someday I’ll try Giaconda’s offerings. You’ll be the first to know.
What Kind of Wine is Pinot Noir?
Pinot Noir [pee-no nwahr] wines are world famous and grown world-wide. It is both the name of a wine grape and the name of a red wine. And, it is a notoriously difficult grape to grow and wine to make. And, like all red wines, this wine has demonstrated health benefits when consumed in moderation. Also, Pinot has four times the compound resveratrol than other red wines-a compound shown to improve quality of life in laboratory animals.
The Places
Keep in mind that although most New World wine labels will list the grapes in the wine, many Old World wine labels only list the place. The most famous Old World place for Pinot Noir is the Burgundy region of France (in French: Bourgogne [boohr-go-ny]). But you’ll also find Pinot wines from Italy (where it’s called Pinot Nero [pee-no neh-(l)ro]) and Germany (where it’s called Spätburgunder [spayt-boo(r)-g(oo)n-deh(r)].
In the New World, you can find many of these wines from the USA, Chile, and New Zealand. Less common, Australia, Argentina, and South Africa produce fine wines from this grape as well. The Willamette Valley in Oregon produces world-class wines of this varietal. Its relatively cool climate and rolling hills mimic the terrior [the-hrwahr] (soil, geography, climate, etc.) of Burgundy allowing this finicky grape to fully mature and a cool region for the wine to properly ferment and age.
Perhaps because Pinot Noir is a notoriously difficult wine to make, prices of the wine are sometimes quite high; especially from famous regions like Burgundy, France or Willamette Valley, Oregon. Look for value-priced wines from New Zealand and Chile. They make some great wines without the “great” (high) prices!
The Grape
Of all commercial wine grapes, this grape is the most susceptible to common wine grape diseases and maladies including frost, mold, and rot. It has a relatively thin skin making the berries vulnerable. This thin skin also affects the wine making process.
The grape vines are just as finicky as the grapes. They tend to be thin and are prone to mildew, mold, viruses and are susceptible to a variety of grape vine pests.
Due to the sensitivity of the Pinot Noir vine and grape, there are perhaps a thousand clone varieties worldwide. Compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, which only has about a dozen clone varieties, Pinot is one of the most diverse wine grapes in the world.
The Wine
As mentioned, the grape has a relatively thin skin. Since the color in red wine comes from the skins of the grape (the juice is lightly colored to almost clear), it can be difficult to achieve and keep the expected red color through the wine making process. Wine makers usually intensify the color by drawing off some of the juice after the grapes are crushed in order to increase the ratio of wine skins to juice during a process called maceration (soaking the juice with the skins, seeds, and stems). Wine makers must also pay close attention during fermentation and aging to avoid a loss of color before (and after) bottling.
Single varietal Pinot Noir wines (those not blended with other grape varietals) have several classic attributes:
A light red color
Aromas and flavors of cherry or strawberry
Often earthy aromas such as mushrooms or what is often called “barnyard” (in other words, it may stink!)
Acidity that is well balanced by fruit flavors and light tannins in the best wines.
Like all wines, the aromas and flavors can vary significantly from vineyard to vineyard, wine maker to wine maker, and vintage to vintage.
Pairing With Food
Because Pinot Noir wines have lighter body with complex aromas and flavors, they best compliment foods that won’t overwhelm the wine. Grilled or broiled salmon, prime rib, lamb and duck are all great meat choices. Any mushroom dish works really well. But go lightly on the spices which may mask the delicate flavors.
Although the grapes are difficult to grow and the wine making process finicky, several regions of the world produce amazing Pinot Noir wines that are great with food or just with friends and conversation. Many also age well; ask a knowledgeable wine steward for an age-worthy wine before purchasing one for that purpose.
Pinot Noir: A Fine Wine
One of the finest wines is the Pinot Noir from the Burgundy Region of France. Of course it goes without saying that this wine is produced in many parts of the world now but the original Pinot Noir comes from Burgundy in France and the vintages made from the burgundy wines are rather expensive. The burgundy based Pinot Noir is one of the most complex red wines and the grape producing this wine is extremely difficult to grow.The Pinot Noir Grape thrives in cooler climates. Cool climates, with ocean breezes, early morning mist and fog, all affect the Pinot Noir grape and affect the taste of the final bottled product. Possible because of the fact these grapes are easily affected by the climate and thrive in cold weather; well grown Pinot Noir grapes create a wine that is lighter in color as compared to the normal full-body red wine. And it may be possible that it is this light color and delicate flavor and texture that attract the Pinot Noir fans to this fine wine.The light and delicate wine has a very soft texture that tastes almost the same as a piece of silk on the body. Depending upon where the Pinot Noir grape was grown, it can also have many flavors including earthy, spicy, herbal, floral, cherry and even light tannin flavors. red winesuits all people from the regular wine drinker to the new wine drinker as well and is a perfect accompaniment to any meal. The kind of wine it is, the Pinot Noir can also be paired easily with any kind of food but generally goes best with Seafood, Beef, Fowl, vegetarian dishes, mushrooms and more. Pinot Noirs are best served in the large balloon like burgundy glasses. These glasses allow for a lot of swirling around and the aroma that spreads amplifies the taste of this beautiful Wine.