Why Pinot Noir is The Greatest Grape

Subjective topic? Of course! I lay out my case for Pinot Noir being The Greatest.

Hello there. I’m changing the format for this week’s Eat Drink Cook. It’s all about Pinot Noir today. Why it’s the greatest grape, quick and easy descriptions of key Pinot Noir AVAs, my latest cooking video and a final plug for the Pinot Noir tasting I’m hosting tomorrow night.
Yeah, it’s all a set-up…or event marketing.

A hearty welcome to the bevy of new subscribers this week thanks to a plug from Napa writer Paul Franson. Paul’s weekly “Napalife” newsletter thoroughly covers winery, restaurant and event news in Napa Valley. “For those who live in Napa Valley, and those who wish they did” reads his info line. I’d add “for those planning their Napa visit.” An annual subscription is $50…I just spent $50 on 4 things at Whole Foods that I don’t even remember.

EDC’s February Pledge Drive launched on Monday with “Bubbles Galore” at Outer Space Wines. Join me next Monday at Outer Space Wines for a tasting of 2012s, including Sky “Old Vine” Zinfandel, Mount Veeder. That’s Monday, Feb 10, 4 to 6 PM. Let me know you’re an EDC reader and the tasting’s on me. (Starting in March, such tastings will be free for paying members. Glory be to capitalism!) All scheduled pledge drive events are at the bottom of this email. Now let’s get into it: Pinot Noir.

Pinot Noir, as a body of work, makes the greatest wines in the world.

Just kidding.
But not really.

Look, we know wine is subjective. There are opinions, there are favorites, there is no definitive. I’m not giving you the line “all that matters is what you like,” which is true when it comes down to dollars and cents but is a little demoralizing to wine educators like me (insert sad frowny face here). Rather, when it comes down to a prize-fight-level discussion of the greatest grape, there are arguments to be made just as there are for the greatest baseball slugger…or heavyweight.

I searched stuff like “why is Pinot Noir the best wine?” and got mostly basic information we read on the back of a Pinot bottle at the grocery store. I also got my fill of lectures on subjectivity, put best by a writer I found on Quora named Ashish. He/she writes “Saying all wine connoisseurs crown Pinot Noir as the king of reds is like saying all bartenders secretly favor a Gin Martini - it’s a mighty big generalization!” And “It's like arguing whether Miles Davis or John Coltrane reigns supreme - both jazz legends, but with wildly different styles.” For sure, but a vodka martini is not a martini IMPO, and I’m comfortable planting a flag for Pinot Noir.

I make the body of work argument. Pinot Noir makes supremely delicious wines that reflect its place from more wine regions than any other grape. Burgundy is King and its ministers are New Zealand, Germany, Patagonia and myriad AVAs within Oregon and California. Add up Cabernet Sauvignon’s regions where it rocks (Napa, Sonoma, Washington, Argentina, Australia, South Africa, Bordeaux, a little slice of heaven on top of Santa Cruz Mountains) and it’s similar, but I argue that Cabernet strives for more uniformity in style place to place. Pinot Noir, really good Pinot Noir, strives for individuality at each place. Look at the seemingly infinite styles within the 50 square miles of Burgundy’s Cote d’Or as evidence.

And the best Pinot Noirs come 100% Pinot. No blending. It stands alone.
Boo-yah!
I hear you, Nebbiolo fans, but it doesn’t do much beyond Piedmont. And yes I really did just write boo-yah.

Back to the set up, I mean event marketing. Tomorrow/Thursday I’m hosting a Pinot Noir tasting of 8 American AVAs at Outer Space Wines. They’re all 2022s, a seductive vintage, eager to please. Here’s the line-up and the place to buy tickets. This is a drop-in event - come anytime from 5:30 to 7:30.

8 American AVAs

For me the #1 tool in learning about wine is a map. I need to SEE where a wine is coming from, the more exact the better. Here’s a California wine map with a Willamette Valley, Oregon insert. The AVAs showcased in tomorrow’s Pinot tasting are circled. Notice their proximity to the coast or a bay. Each region is special due to the effects of the Pacific as well as soil and the people who have figured it all out.

Maybe one day my home town of Eureka will be a Pinot Noir mecca.

Quick profiles, profoundly generalized, of the 8 AVAs we’re tasting on Thursday. From closest to furthest to Napa.

Carneros
Temperature shifts are quick in Carneros, running coldest in the south along the San Pablo Bay and warmest near Napa city limits, the “banana belt” of Carneros. The best known Pinot style comes from the cool south. Red fruits, tension, tea leaves.

Petaluma Gap
Petaluma Gap, seceded from Sonoma Coast and became an AVA just in 2018. This gap is an alley, bunkered by coastal hills, of maritime weather and wind. And windy it is. In fact, a requisite for Petaluma Gap inclusion is average wind speed of 8 miles per hour. Not to get into why, but windy vineyards equate to bolder-flavored wines, especially Pinot Noir.

Sonoma Coast
The sprawling Sonoma Coast AVA is particularly hard to define stylistically. Maximum average temperatures controls the “coolness” of Sonoma Coast vineyards, on the high end anyway. Some are much cooler than others, especially the vineyards hovering over the Pacific.

Anderson Valley
Anderson Valley in Mendocino County begins 100 miles north of San Francisco. The Pinot Noirs here are my favorite amongst favorites. Snappy wild cherry and raspberry flavors with red roses and violets. Satisfyingly rich yet charmingly graceful. The Pinots from the top/northwestern half, nearest the Pacific, are generally the best. Two words: Deep End.

Santa Cruz Mountains
You could spend a week exploring the vast Santa Cruz Mountains AVA and feel you’ve barely peeked inside. The Pinots to me take on the flavors of their overarching landscape: woodsy. Conifer trees, allspice, deep red fruits.

Santa Lucia Highlands
The baguette-shaped, benchland AVA Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County has the longest growing season in California. And it’s windy, which delays ripening, so the extra time is needed. The result is dark, deeply flavored Pinot Noir that tastes of black cherries, licorice and amaro.

Santa Rita Hills
Very cool-temp region, end to end, in Santa Barbara County. The cool Pacific breezes, ten miles away, blow unimpeded through the vines. Ripeness comes before sugars get too high, so under 14% alcohol is normal. Expect tangy red fruits and blood orange, mint, cedar, incense.

Dundee Hills
Oregon’s Pinot Noir brigade began modestly in the Dundee Hills, a sub AVA of Willamette Valley, in the ‘60s. Wine smarty-pants like me like to point out that Dundee/Willamette is on the same latitude as Burgundy, so the sun behaves the same there and there. It’s common to call Dundee Hills Pinots “Burgundian,” which begs the question, “what?” Let’s just say less fruity, more sensations of the earth (‘shrooms, soil, leaves). Which is true. Sometimes.

Events

The aforementioned Pinot Noir tasting.
Tomorrow/Thursday Feb 6. 5:30 to 7:30 drop-in.
8 AVAs, 2022 vintage.
$50. Line-up & tickets.

Eat Drink Cook Pledge Drive Tastings
Free for all my readers this month…free for paying members starting in March.

2012 Vintage Reds from Sky Vineyard, Leaf & Vine and ?
Monday, February 10, 4 to 6 PM.
At Outer Space Wines, Downtown Napa.

Eat Drink Cook Road Trip #1 to PEZZATO
Saturday, February 22, 2 PM
At Envy Winery in Calistoga
Michael and Andrea Savaiano make miniscule amounts of Pezzato Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon while raising a family and working their day jobs. I love their 2022 Cabernet, an unapologetically rich, spicy, layered Cabernet. We’ll taste the ‘22 along with barrel samples and back-vintage wines too. I’ll bring the nibbles. You bring the joy!

Wines available to purchase at the events.
Please leave your RSVPs for both events in the comments section below.

A Recipe

Pan-fried salmon filets. The video’s kinda long, but the process is important, man! In the video I talk about getting a crispy skin while not overcooking it. The skin didn’t get crispy enough in the pan, so after cooking I removed the skin and air-fried it to perfection! I did have Pinot Noir with it, but not the kind you’re thinking. I had sparkling, a Crèmant d’Alsace Brut Rosé made from Pinot Noir. Why? Because it was there.

Finally

Some say duck and Pinot Noir make the ultimate pairing, so this story sticks with the theme. Donald Trump Jr Accused of Killing Protected Duck in Italy.

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You made it: the end of this week’s Eat Drink Cook: a life-journal from a Napa Valley dad, wine expert and enthusiastic cook. Stories that emphasize food, wine, cooking, being a dad and just a guy enjoying these crazy times the best I can. Read me for food & wine tips, recipes, and stuff I come across that you may find interesting too.