Pinot Noir for Everyone Else
March 24th, 2006 by Annette
I don’t really like to discuss wine color a whole lot these days because I think the whole subject is pretty tiresome at this point. But two articles that have come out recently in the wine industry media that have spurred my interest. The first article was published in the April, 2006 issue of Wine & Spirits magazine entitled “Pinot Noir Taboo”, written by Jordan Mackay. I’ve gotten to the point with wine media where I’m generally looking forward to my subscriptions running out for most of them, especially the review-heavy types of zines. But, I have to say that the kinds of articles I have seen in this magazine recently have piqued my interest in this magazine, and I hope they continue the good work. In this article, Jordan discusses the taboo of blending other varietals into Pinot Noir to make it darker and richer than it ordinarily would be. It is taboo not because it is an illegal practice (25% of a wine of a varietal wine can be of other varietals), but because no one wants to admit they do it. Jordan doesn’t find out much, because no one is willing to talk to him about it except for the folks that are making Pinot Noir blends outright (for example Terry Speizer, Greg La Follette and Lynn Penner-Ash). All of these folks have been making Pinot for years and say that yes, folks do blend and don’t admit to doing it. Also, an interesting point that Jordan points out is that the amount of Pinot being sold these days has increased dramatically, but the acreage planted has almost remained unchanged. How can that happen unless it is, in fact, being blended with other wines?
The other article that pursued a related taboo is one entitled “Mega Purple” by Dan Berger in the March 2006 issue of Wines & Vines magazine. Mega Purple and its cousin Mega Red are products that I have been vaguely aware of for sometime but didn’t know much about. According to Dan, Mega Purple is produced by Constellation, aka Canandaigua. (A quick corporation primer here: Constellation, which owns, among other things Estancia, Ravenswood, Simi, and the sole distribution rights for Corona and Modelo beers in the US is, in turn, owned by Canandaigua, the illustrious producers of, among other things, Cisco and Wild Irish Rose, and other what I call “formula” wine products). To summarize, many winemakers, maybe thousands of winemakers, apparently use this additive (a concentrate of grape skin extracts) to enhance color, body and add a light “sweetness” to a wine. Here’s a quote from the article on page 53: ” Yet one Monterey County winery president confided, ‘Virtually everyone is using it.’”
First of all — to Jordan and Dan — good job in tackling a subject that folks have whispered for years. It is about time that these things start to be examined by folks in the industry, but especially by wine drinking consumers.
Second of all: why such a concern over color? It is such a silly concern that started in the early 90′s, in my opinion, when the cult Cabernet thing was moving into full swing and the concept that dark-hued wines receive higher magazine ratings (read, then higher the value and collectibility of the wine will be) developed. Before you knew it, a grain of wine color obsession became a landslide of delusion and superficial concern. In the 90′s, the main winemaking discussion seemed to be how to get the most color out of Pinot. I am hoping that wine drinkers and winemakers are moving beyond that simple concern, but apparently not?
The way I see it, there are two different classifications of Pinot these days in the US: PCD’s (Pinot for Cab Drinkers) and PEE’s (excuse the acronym: Pinot for Everyone Else). I like Cabernet, and I have nothing against Cabernet drinkers, but what I don’t like is the concept of placing the same expecations one has of Cabernet (dark, rich, and, well, dark, rich) on a wine such as Pinot Noir and, as it turns out, the typical PCD’s are usually dark, rich and relatively non-varietal in character. If you like that, then go to it.
But, as one who has been involved with Pinot Noir for some time and has had the opportunity to form a, more or less, “purist’s” opinion about it, this is an idea I offer: Let’s embrace the concept of, um, PEE! What should we expect from Pinot for Everyone Else? How about “Everything Pinot Can Be”, which is to say, let’s appreciate it for it’s wide-ranging varietal capacity, depending upon where it is from and who makes it. That, in the end, is the beauty of the varietal to me, and also, I suspect and hope, for a growing number of other wine interested folks: the possibilities Pinot holds within itself, without any help from its friends.
- Posted in Wine Appreciation, Winemaking
- 3 Comments
March 26, 2006 at 9:02 am, Erwin Dink said:
The importance of color to me is a result of association… I like hearty, full bodied wines and many of them tend to be very dark in color. When I pour a glass, the color of the wine triggers an anticipated impression, not unlike what happens when you first stick your nose in the glass. The intriguing question raised by the addition of Mega Purple to enhance the color of a wine is whether the color change alone actually influences what I think I’m tasting. The fact that Mega Purple is also said to add some sweetness would make it difficult, if not impossible, to determine if color affects taste perception. I now have to wonder if the body of a wine is also being “enhanced” by Mega Purple.
When I first heard of Mega Purple, I was dismayed, thinking that perhaps I have been manipulated into liking certain wines but that’s crazy thinking. If I like something, I like it — what difference should it make how it was made?
The larger issue for me in both cases described above is one of disclosure. Drinking (and reading about) wine is always a learning experience for me. Every time I taste a new wine I’m trying to gain a deeper understanding of whatever varietal, blend or appellation that I’m drinking. It’s frustrating to know that something simply called Pinot Noir may have several other varietals blended into it. On the other hand, these are just two other factors among the many that are difficult for the average wine drinker to discern, or even know about.
I wonder if any experienced wine tasters can detect the presence of Mega Purple by taste alone?
March 27, 2006 at 10:09 am, annette said:
Hi Erwin, Thanks for your comments. Please see my next post (3-27-06) for a detailed reponse.
March 17, 2007 at 8:05 am, Norman J. Beko said:
PNO Color and taste:
AS a winemaker and as a consumer, I do not find color has much impact on the results. At Cottonwood, I found that increasing the potassium in my vineyard and in raisining the vines to allow the clusters to be more exposed has resulted in darkening of the wine but…. Does it make a difference in taste? Color creates an illusion of what you perceive you are tasting. So many customers taste our older pno’s and comment about the brickish color which they “perceive” that makes the wine older. Not necessarily true since most of our pno’s start brickish since we leave the wine in the barrels for about 18 months. unopened on the lees, the result is the dropout of color and replaced with the brickish.
So, perception is really an issue. So many of our customers call us and say the wine isn’t any good because the cork leaked. But they did not even taste the wine, so they reached this false conclusion. This week I opened a 500ml bottle of our 90 Pno and it took me about 4 minutes to remove the soaked cork out that had disintregated. Thank God my wife does not like Pno since I voraciously drank the 2+ glasses by myself that was brickish in color but in no danger on being shorten shelf life.
And so what if winemakers don’t note that they add the color. The key should always be, do you enjoy the wine!
Yes, we do make a wine that we blend and we call it Syroir. Quite unique and successful on its 4th year of release. Of course, you should be able to surmise this wines contents?
Norman J. Beko
Proprietor/Winemaker
Cottonwood Canyon