16 | OHCC LIVING | APRIL 2021 |
The pinot family of grapes have been around for almost 2,000 years.
These ancient vines produce some of the world's finest wines. The
grapes were originally grown in the Burgundy region of France and
spread to Champagne, Bordeaux, and Alsace. Regions of Germany,
Switzerland, and Italy have compatible climates to successfully grow
pinot grapes where the temperatures are cooler.
The pinot grapes ripen early which means it requires a cooler
climate. Some successful climates are continental like the Jura in
France, areas of Germany, Switzerland, and Canada. Locations with
low latitude such as New Zealand and Patagonia, South America. The
grapes are grown in high altitude in the mountains of Italy or areas
that are cooled by maritime influences of the north western coast of
the US and emerging Chilean coast, among others.
The pinot vines produce small, tight clusters of grapes ranging
from very dark purple (noir) to light gray green (Gris) berries. The
different grapes are used to produce many still and sparkling red,
rosé, and white wines. For instance, Champagne is blended using
pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay grapes. The Champagne
appellation rules will also allow pinot blanc and pinot gris in the
blend but this is rarely done.
To get the information about the pinot grapes, I borrowed a couple
of books from one of my group members and a website I found online.
The website www.wine-searcher.com has an amazing amount of
information about wine. There are categories on wine news, wine
regions, grape varieties, wine vintages, styles, food pairing, critics,
and awards categories. This is an excellent site to research themes for
the next wine tasting which has free and paid subscriptions.
Wine Tasting Club
