Happy World Pinot Noir Day| For a Persnickety but Pleasing Grape

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“It's thin-skinned, temperamental and… needs constant care and attention.”

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Does that sound like a sensitive friend, a high-maintenance lover or a moody pet? Nope, we are talking about Pinot Noir, a grape notoriously difficult to manage but truly wonderful -- when it’s in the right mood.

That quote is from the movie Sideways, from wine-loving character Miles, who calls the flavors of Pinot Noir done right “the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and ancient on the planet."

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Today is Pinot Noir Day, so here are some fun facts about a challenging grape that breaks bud early in the year and is susceptible to frost, that has thin skin and is at risk from the weather, that grows in tight bunches and is prone to rot, and on and on and on. (No wonder it is so moody!)

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The Ranking of Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir sounds like “Pee-no Nwar”, makes some of the most sublime and sought-after wines and has a loyal—almost cult-like—base of fans.

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This grape dominates Wine Searcher's list of the world’s 50 most expensive wines. Top French Pinot Noir from Burgundy--notably from Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune—starts on the list at about CNY 20,000 per bottle and skyrockets to over CNY 200,000! 

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The most expensive wines of the world

Fortunately, most Pinot Noir is much cheaper. And while in France this grape is famous for red wine from Burgundy, it is even more common in the Champagne region, where it is made into bubbly. (It is also intimately linked to the region’s other two key grapes, Pinot Meunier, a mutation of Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay, a cross of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc, a grape big in the Middle Ages in Europe. All one big family!)

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Pinot Noir Regions

Beyond France, the biggest Pinot Noir producers are the United States and Germany (where is called Spatburgunder or “late Burgundy”), though it is found everywhere from Chile to New Zealand to here in China, where we see interesting versions from Ningxia, Shaanxi and Hebei.

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Pinot Noir Regions 

Around the World

Terroir for Pinot Noir 

The great thing about Pinot Noir is how it can adapt to a terroir -- a particular blend of climate, soil, geography et al -- to create a local style, from the red berries and earthiness found in much Burgundy to richer fruitier offerings from Sonoma in California to aromatic spicier wines from Central Otago in New Zealand, although there are variations in all these places.

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CHEERS Pinot Noir

You can start exploring with CHEERS Pinot Noir, which carries Tussock Jumper from France, Thomas from Germany and Seaside Cellars from New Zealand. Happy Pinot Noir Day!

Signé Bourgogne Cote Chalonnaise Pinot Noir & 

Tussock Jumper Pinot Noir

Thomas Pinot Noir

Seaside Cellars Pinot Noir

Original by Jim Boyce, Grape Wall of China 葡萄围城

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