Welcome to the fourth in a series of back to wine basics posts to help put you on the path to wine success!  In the first three post, we covered the three white noble grapes:

• Riesling – The light and aromatic white, diverse enough to be dry and minerally or sweet and fruity.
• Sauvignon blanc – The herbaceous, green fruited, gooseberry moderate bodied white that sparkles with acidity
• Chardonnay – The lush, fullbodied white that takes well to oak or no oak, with plenty of tropical fruits or pome fruits

Pinot Noir starts our the 3 noble red grapes.  The process of making red wine is slightly different.  Rather than merely obtaining the juice, and separating it from the stems, leaves, and skins, the juice is allowed to rest on the black / purple skins, imparting color and tannins.  The tannins are what give wine it’s mouth drying feeling on the ending, and what make a large red like Cabernet Sauvignon, work well with fatty foods.

Pinot noir is at the lighter end of the spectrum, and therefore typically has a light body and lower tannins.  However, this doesn’t mean that Pinot Noir is any less versatile of a wine, pairing well with chicken, duck, salmon, and many other foods.  The character of the wine can be impressively earthy, pulling in mushrooms and cranberries in the France and Oregon.  While in the new world (California, Australia, and South America), the finicky nature of the wine produces more raspberry and spice forward wines.

Quick Facts on Pinot Noir:

Color: Red
Style: Dry
Body:  Light
General Characteristics:  Light, Raspberry & Clove, Cranberry & Mushrooms
Notable Regions:  Australia, California, Chile, New Zealand, Oregon, France (Burgundy)

Finding a great Pinot Noir can be challenging due to the difficulty in growing it, however, California does it’s best to offer some affordable examples under $10.  Can 2012 Painted Gate Pinot Noir provide a solid example, or it is it time to splurge in Oregon?  

Sight:  2012 Painted Gate Pinot Noir pours very light red, with a hint of brickish nature.  The edges washout as pinot should.

Smell:  The funkiness jumps out right at the start, channelling a strange mix of earthiness, slight rubber or mushrooms, and hits of cherries.   Once you get past the funk, there’s a healthy amount of alcohol pervading off the top.  Hiding beneath it, are notes of currants, cranberries, mushroom, and cherry.

Sip: 2012 Painted Gate Pinot Noir’s start is fruity, fresh, and bright, but the earthiness begins building from the start.  While cherries and currants make the base, there’s a hit of spice, and then earth. The building earth goes in waves of fresh dirt, slight coffee, and mushrooms. Despite the weight of the flavors, the wine is light on the palate.

Savor: The ending pulls in earthiness, a slight amount of spice, and cherries before quickly disappointed.  Mild tannins are present.

2012 Painted Gate Pinot Noir is an interesting example of Pinot Noir.  At $10, this is a notoriously difficult wine to find, better examples will start coming out of Oregon at $20+.  However, that’s not to say it’s impossible.  This example comes close to fault on some of the earthiness elements, but the fruit is quite nice underneath. For $10, 2012 Painted Gate Pinot Noir worth a try, just don’t expect perfection.

Verdict:  Baked cherries, Super Earthy,  Spice, Funk
Price: $9.99
California