Special Days, Special Wines: Think Pinot!

It’s getting cold outside again, and the days are growing shorter.  In most respects this is not a good thing (at least from my perspective);  however, there is one positive result – it’s time to start thinking about red wine again!  I generally find red wines too heavy for warm, sunny Central Oregon days. Because I love the intensity and complexity of red wines, there’s a reason to cheer as winter approaches.

As the fall gives way to winter, it makes sense that I think of transitional wines – those that flexibly straddle two seasons.  One of the best of these is pinot noir.

Pinot has always struck me as a wine with both white and red properties.  It’s delicate, like a white, but it’s quite complex, like a red.  It’s incredibly versatile, which is wonderful as we approach Thanksgiving.  Generally, I find matching wine with the holiday dinner to be quite daunting.  How do you find wine that goes with flavors as diverse as turkey and/or ham, onion and celery (stuffing), green beans, cranberries and mashed potatoes and gravy?  Each one ordinarily calls for a separate, distinct wine.  But I don’t want my guests drinking that much, so I have to find a single wine that will successfully pair with and marry all these divergent flavors.  Pinot noir is nearly always the best bet.  It compliments a variety of food without overwhelming any of it.

So what exactly can you expect to taste in a pinot?  What makes wine exciting is the variation in flavor. The same type of grape grown in the same area can produce widely varying results. Each vineyard has variations in soil and climate that change the taste of the wine it will ultimately produce. As weather conditions vary from year to year, the same vineyard growing the same grapes can produce wildly different results. But such variations are subtleties noticed mainly by connoisseurs. For the majority of less experienced wine drinkers, a familiar flavor or aroma will set one wine apart from another. The most commonly described characteristics of pinot noirs are cherries, strawberries, violets, roses, cinnamon, rhubarb, green tomatoes, mushrooms, truffles, leather and vanilla.  In a good pinot, several of these flavors will weave together in a wonderfully complex tapestry.  In a lower quality pinot, you are likely to find that one of the flavors or elements is highlighted, making the wine “out of balance.”  Some pinots are heavily herbal. Others are excessively earthy.

We are fortunate in Oregon to live in a place where excellent pinot noir can easily be had.  Unfortunately, pinot is expensive compared to other varietals, a fact that reflects how difficult it is to grow this fickle grape. Additionally, pinot noir vineyards yield far fewer grapes than other varietals, making them relatively more expensive.  Pinot also is highly frost sensitive, and its delicate skin makes the grapes easy to bruise when harvested.  As a result, most good pinot noirs are made from grapes that are harvested by hand by experienced and careful (read: “slow”) pickers -- an expensive proposition.  That’s why a quality pinot will typically cost $35 or more, while the typical quality zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon or syrah will cost less than $20.

At these prices, pinot isn’t an everyday wine, but it’s the wine of choice when you want to splurge for a special occasion like Thanksgiving, Christmas or a birthday.  In choosing a pinot noir, follow a few simple rules to find something truly terrific:  1) Look for a wine made in a region known to produce quality pinot noir.  Some of the most dependable are Oregon wines and the Burgundy region of France. In California, the Russian River and Carneros regions produce great grapes while other regions in Napa and Sonoma aren’t as renowned. 2) Look for a reputable producer.  In Oregon, we have quite a few.  Some of my favorites are Bergstrom, Ken Wright, Ponzi, Chehalem, Domaine Drouhin and Brooks.  3) Look for a good year (in winespeak, the “vintage.” )  Oregon really hasn’t had a bad vintage since 1995, but 2002, 2004 and 2005 were especially excellent years. The 2005s are hitting the shelves now, and plenty of 2004s are still out there.

One of the best pinot regions in the world is just a mountain range away from Central Oregon. You don’t have to go halfway around the world to find something really incredible to grace your table this holiday season. The wine that will add that touch of class may be as close as your local grocery store.