Pinot Noir from around the globe

Grape varieties are landmarks on the map of wine. The wine drinker finds it useful to know the variety used because this is a major clue to the taste and character of the wine in the bottle. A wine thus made from Pinot Noir will have certain taste characteristics, wherever in the World it is made.

However, the grape variety is only one ingredient in the taste:  wine-making techniques and the land it grows on can be much stronger influences!

Unlike its white counterpart Chardonnay, Pinot Noir has resisted attempts to duplicate the Burgundy taste elsewhere. That does not stop winemakers from trying, such is the allure of classic burgundy. Thus why we will be tasting a stunning Hautes-Cotes de Nuits example from the magical Cote d'Or area of Burgundy. 

Outside of Burgundy, Pinot Noir is also widely grown in the Loire Valley and Germany, but the real show-stoppers come from California and even more so from Oregon. There, a wide range of Pinot Noir wines are being produced. Australia has only recently begun to to discover, or re-discover the cool vineyard sites needed by this variety, and Tasmania is therefore growing strong! Whereas New Zealand has risen to the challenge rather spectacularly and has given birth to some of the best Pinot Noir-based wines I have ever tasted!