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Kosher Wines --> Wines --> Pinot Noir |
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Pinot noir (IPA: ['pi.no
nw.ar]) is a red wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The
name may also refer to wines produced predominantly from Pinot noir
grapes. The name is derived from the french words for "pine" and
"black" alluding to the varietals' tightly clustered dark purple pine
cone shaped bunches of fruit. History, mutants and
clones |
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The origins of the variety are unclear:
In De re rustica, Columella describes a grape variety similar to Pinot
noir in Burgundy during the 1st century A.D., however, vines have
grown wild as far north as Belgium in the days before phylloxera, and
it is possible that Pinot represents an independent domestication of
Vitis vinifera. The vines of southern France may represent Caucasian
stock transported by the ancient Greeks. Ferdinand Regner has proposed that Pinot noir is a cross between Pinot meunier (Schwarzriesling) and Traminer, but this work has not been replicated. In fact Pinot meunier appears to be a Pinot noir with a mutation in the epidermal cells which makes the shoot tips hairy and the vine a little smaller. This means that Pinot meunier is a chimera with two tissue layers of different genetic makeup, one of which is identical to Pinot noir. As such, Pinot meunier cannot be the parent of Pinot noir. Pinot gris is a bud sport of Pinot noir, presumably representing a somatic mutation in either the VvMYBA1 or VvMYBA2 genes that control grape colour. Pinot blanc may represent a further mutation of Pinot gris. The DNA profiles of both Pinot gris and blanc are identical to Pinot noir, The other two major Pinots, Pinot moure and Pinot teinturier, are also genetically very similar. A more recent white grape sport was propagated in 1936 by Henri Gouges of Burgundy, and there is now 2.5ha planted of this grape which Clive Coates calls Pinot Gouges, and others call Pinot Musigny. Pinot Liébault is a mutant which has higher, more consistent yields than Pinot noir, but retains its oenological qualities. As such it is explicitly mentioned in some Burgundy appellations. The Wrotham (pronounced "ruttum") Pinot is an English variety with white hairs on the upper surface of the leaves, and is particularly resistant to disease. Edward Hyams of Oxted Viticultural Research Station was alerted to a strange vine growing against a cottage wall in Wrotham in Kent, which local lore said was descended from vines brought over by the Romans. An experimental Blanc de Noir was made at Oxted, and in 1980 Richard Peterson took cuttings to California, where he now makes a pink sparkling Wrotham Pinot. Wrotham Pinot is sometimes regarded as a synonym of Pinot meunier, but it has a higher natural sugar content and ripens two weeks earlier. Pinot noir appears to be particularly prone to mutation (suggesting it has active transposable elements?), and has a long history in cultivation, so there are hundreds of different clones such as Pinot Fin and Pinot Tordu. More than 50 are officially recognized in France compared to only 25 of the much more widely planted cabernet sauvignon. The French Etablissement National Technique pour l’Amelioration de la Viticulture (ENTAV) has set up a programme to select the best clones of Pinot. Laurent Audeguin of ENTAV believes that most American clones, such as 'Pommard' and 'Wadenswiel', produce wine that is inferior to and very different from French Pinot; the recent popularity of ENTAV ("Dijon") clones in the US would appear to support that thesis. It has even been suggested that the difference between Oregon and Californian wines is principally a clonal effect, Oregon having mainly 'Wadenswil' (UCD2A) and 'Pommard' (aka 'Coury', UCD4), California has a lot of the well-regarded Joseph Swan clone. Gamay Beaujolais is an early-ripening clone of Pinot noir. It is used mostly in California but is also seen in New Zealand. It was brought to California by Paul Masson. Frühburgunder (Pinot Noir Précoce) is an early-ripening grape that is thought to be a clone of Pinot noir - it's possible that the two are the same mutant. In August 2007, French researchers announced the sequencing of the genome of Pinot noir. It is the first fruit crop to be sequenced, and only the fourth flowering plant. |
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