Types of Wine Grapes: Pinot Noir

Ep 128

Would you believe that one of the world’s favorite red wines comes from one of the most temperamental grapes on earth?

Today’s episode is a fan request and we’re taking a deep dive into Pinot Noir! This grape is known for being both a challenge to grow but also how it reflects where it’s grown. We’ll talk about where Pinot Noir got its start and how it’s now grown everywhere from Burgundy to Oregon. You'll discover why Pinot Noir is called the “heartbreak grape” and why winemakers everywhere continue to chase its perfection.

We’ll explore the grape’s history, how it’s genetically linked to other famous varieties, what makes it thrive in cooler climates, and the major regions producing outstanding Pinot Noir today. You’ll also learn how oak, fermentation styles, and even your glass shape can change what you taste. 

So, whether you’re a red wine enthusiast or just starting your wine journey, this episode will deepen your appreciation for one of wine’s most captivating grapes.

Don’t miss out on the other deep dives I’ve done on the following grapes - Chardonnay (Ep 6), Cabernet Franc (Ep 14), Chenin Blanc (Ep 21), Riesling (Ep 38), Barbera (Ep 45), Merlot (Ep 57), Sauvignon Blanc (Ep 104)

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• Vacu Vin: Go to us.vacuvin.com and use code CORKANDFIZZ for 20% off your order!

Episode Highlights:

• The surprising history of Pinot Noir
• Why it’s called the “heartbreak grape”
• How terroir shapes Pinot Noir’s flavor
• Clones, mutations, and grape family ties
• Key Pinot Noir regions in Burgundy
• Oregon vs. California Pinot Noir styles
• Pinot Noir from Germany to New Zealand
• Pinot Noir’s role in Champagne
• Oak aging and whole-cluster fermentation
• Serving and aging tips for Pinot Noir
• Go-to food pairings for Pinot Noir

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Transcript

0:09

Interested in learning about wine but not sure where to start. You're in the right place. Welcome to the Cork and Fizz Guide to Wine Podcast. I'm your host, Hayley Bowlman and I'm so glad you're here. I'm a wine enthusiast turned wine educator and and founder of the Seattle based wine tasting business Cork and Fizz. It is my goal to build your confidence in wine by making it approachable and lots of fun. You can expect to learn everything from how to describe your favorite wine to what to pair with dinner tonight and so much more. Whether you're a casual wine sipper or a total cork dork like myself, this podcast is for you. So grab yourself a glass and let's dive in. Hello and welcome back to the Cork and Fizz Guide to Wine podcast. So glad to have you here. Today we are doing a listener request episode and it's actually a continuation of a little miniseries you could say that I have going on here and there. We're going to be doing a grape deep dive. So we've done quite a few of these. You can look back at past episodes. Have not heard all of them yet. I tend to kind of go between either the old favorites, you know, like your traditional Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. And a lot of times I like to do a grape deep dive into grapes that we aren't as familiar with. But today is one of the former we are going to be talking about. And I'm honestly kind of amazed I have not dedicated a full episode to this grape yet. We are talking Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is one of the first wines that I fell in love with. It was during a trip to Willamette Valley that I really just realized I needed to dive into the world of wine and I was absolutely fascinated by it. And in Willamette Valley in Oregon, they make Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. They make more than that now, but that was kind of the gist of it when I was visiting and Pinot Noir has just always been an amazing go to. I also love Burgundy. Pinot Noir. We'll talk a little bit more if you're like, what are you talking about? We'll talk more about that later in the episode. But it is just a wonderful grape. It's so food friendly. Like whatever you're having for dinner, there is a good chance Pinot Noir will pair with it. And yeah, it's just a really wonderful grape. So all that said, thank you to the listener who requested this episode so that I could Dive into this wonderful grape, and let's do it. Let's get into our grape deep dive on Pinot Noir. So starting out, you know, I wouldn't be me if we didn't talk history. So Pinot Noir is actually one of France's oldest grapes. It was cultivated more than a century ago by sisterian monks in Burgundy. It's more than a thousand years older than Cabernet Sauvignon, which, I mean, like, I don't know if, like, in your mind, Cabernet Sauvignon is really old, but I guess since it's just so popular, it would. You would think it's older, but no. Pinot Noir is a thousand years older than Cabernet Sauvignon. Pinot Noir is also considered a founder variety. And what this means is that it's basically the source of many other grapes. In order to get other grape varieties, it typically takes, you know, it's. One grapevine will meet up with another. Right. And create a new grapevine. And Pinot Noir is behind a lot of the grapes that we are familiar with, including Chardonnay, Gamay, and Garganaga. It's also likely the grandparent of Syrah. And just for a fun fact, the name for Pinot Noir comes from the French word for pine and black. So Noir simply means black. This also kind of gives you an idea on, like, other grapes. We're going to talk about the mutations and clones that Pinot Noir has, but if you've heard of Pinot Grigio or Pinot Blanc, those are basically saying Pinot Grigio, which is Pinot gray, a gray Pinot, or Pinot Blanc, which is white Pinot. So Pinot Noir. Noir is black, and then the Pinot part is the French word for pine, and it's a reference to the pine cone shape of the clusters on the vine and, of course, the color of the grapes for that Noir. Just a quick reminder. If you are not on my mailing list yet, what are you waiting for? I would love for you to join. When you do, you'll get a free shopping guide that has 15 of my favorite wines under $15. Head to corkandfizz.com, scroll down to the bottom, and there'll be a little section where you can join the mailing list. I send out a weekly newsletter filled with wine tips, recommendations, special offers, and so much more. Now, let's get back to the show. All right, let's talk viticulture. Pinot Noir is often called the heartbreak grape. It is very difficult to grow, you really, you really gotta love winemaking and growing grapes and really appreciate the art of wine to want to grow Pinot Noir and make Pinot Noir. It buds early, so buds early in the spring, which makes it really susceptible to bad weather. It also has thin skin. Again, another thing against it, you know, in the spring if you have any hail, or in the fall if you get high winds, these are all dangerous things for Pinot Noir. And along with that, Pinot Noir will throw a fit if the weather isn't just right. It's also low yielding, which is great for flavor, not great for the cost of the wine and the cost of the grapes. It is sensitive to sun damage, pests, and moisture. Again, it is difficult, but you're like, okay, so then all these reasons not to grow Pinot Noir. Why do so many places and so many people grow Pinot Noir? Pinot Noir is really special in that it has this ability to express its growing region. You might hear this also said as it is reflective of its terroir. And if you've never heard me use that word before, terroir, that is basically just a fancy French word that means sense of place. And the idea is that, like, grapes grown in one area of the world are going to taste totally different than grapes grown in another area of the world, even if they are the exact same grapes. There's actually a quote that I found. I was reading a couple articles and I found one on wine enthusiast from the author Tom Capo. And he mentioned that the unique soil and weather profile of the area in which Pinot Noir is grown can really leave a stamp on the final wine that ends up in the bottle. And as a cork dork, and as I'm sure many of you are fellow wine nerds, the idea that a wine can taste different simply on where it's grown and that you know what you're drinking is reflective of the area that that wine and those grapes came from is just really, really cool. Now, Pinot Noir, although it is grown in many places across the world, it does prefer cooler climates. This cooler climate allows extended hang time, which will allow the flavors to develop more gradually. Along with the cooler climate, it also prefers areas with a longer spring and fall. Now, of course, remember again, these interim months of spring and fall can also bring a few troubles to Pinot Noir vineyards, such as rotting or freezing, which our picky little grapes are very sensitive to. So it's a bit of like a. It's a love hate relationship that I think vineyard growers and winemakers have with Pinot Noir. Now, another thing about Pinot Noir is that it has this inherent genetic instability. And what that means is that it gives rise to numerous clones, mutations. Now, there are over a thousand identified clones of Pinot Noir. And a reminder, a clone is genetically identical to the mother vine. So if you looked at, you know, you might hear people talk about, like, the Burgundy clone or the Dijon clone is another one. If you hear these things, they're. They're all Pinot Noir. They're all just, like, different. Different variations on Pinot Noir, but they all have the same genetic makeup as the original Pinot Noir vine. And what happens is, over time, these clones develop their own unique characteristics through spontaneous mutation, unique responses to their planting site, general vine evolution, or potentially a reaction to viral disease. The way I like to think about it sometimes, and I don't know if this makes sense, but think of it as, like, they are. Clones are essentially. I mean, they are what they sound like, right? You made clones of the vinegar, and then you put it in different areas. And if you think about this with, like, people, for example, like, imagine we made, like, 20 clones of you, but we put you in, like, 20 different places around the world. Each of those clones would end up having their own personalities and their own likes and dislikes. And, you know, and they'd be different people, essentially, but they'd all have the same genetic makeup. And that's what clones are when we're talking about grapevines. Now, Pinot Noir has also given rise to multiple mutations, and these are slightly different in that they actually create. The genetic makeup is not totally the same, and they end up making a new variety or a new grape variety. And so Pinot Gris, or also called Pinot Grigio, is the gray mutation for Pinot Noir. So there's less anthocyanin. That's the thing that causes the grapes to have a certain color. There's less of that in a Pinot in Grigio. And then there's another mutation, Pinot Blanc, which means there are no anthocyanins. There's nothing giving it color, so it ends up being a white grape. Now, let's talk a little bit more about the type of wine that Pinot Noir makes. So the main factors that will affect the flavor in your Pinot Noir include whether the grapes were grown in a warm or cool climate and the oak usage when making the wine. But in general, some flavors that you can expect from Pinot Noir. You get a lot of red fruit. Think cherry cranberry raspberry. You'll also get this earthy note. And so this is something like forest floor, mushroom flowers or fresh herbs. And then depending on how much oak contact your Pinot Noir has had, you might get oaky notes. And these are things like smoke, cinnamon, vanilla, clove and allspice. When it comes to the structure of Pinot Noir, typically you're going to have a light to medium bodied wine, which isn't super common when it comes to reds. But Pinot Noir is special in that it isn't a super full bodied red. And a lot of that we can put towards one. The climate that it's grown in, we'll talk a little bit more about how that impacts it. And also those thin skins. And so it ends up producing a lighter style of wine. It also has a really bright acidity for a red. And of course, as we mentioned, the thin skins, this means less tannin in the resulting wine. And they often are described as silky tannin. So they're not grippy, they don't coat your mouth, they just give the wine a good structure. And then when it comes to the alcohol, there is a large alcohol range when you're looking at Pinot Noirs. And this again has to do with where the grapes are grown. If it's grown in a cooler climate like, say, Germany or France, you're looking at 12 to 13 and a half. So pretty square in the middle. If it's grown in warmer climates like, let's say, California or areas of Australia or Chile, you're going to have a, a much higher alcohol content. We're looking at 13.5 to upwards of 15%, if not more, which puts us in the higher alcohol range. As I mentioned before, the oak has a major impact on the style of wine. There's also one other winemaking decision that we'll talk about after the oak that can impact our wine. But first, talking about oak. Many winemakers will choose to age their Pinot noir wines in 100% new French oak. And what this does is it produces a fuller, more textured wine. Other winemakers may choose to use modest oak. So they either use an older barrel so it doesn't impart a lot of flavor, or they use larger barrels so that less of the wine is in contact with the barrel. And what this does is it allows more of the fruit and earthiness of the grape itself to shine through while still softening the tannin and providing minimal, not as intense oak flavors in the wine. Technically, winemakers can also use stainless steel to age their wines. But this is uncommon in red wines. In general, though, you will see some Pinot Noirs that do this. The other winemaking style that can really impact the flavor of your Pinot Noir is whether the winemaker chooses to do whole cluster fermentation. And what this technique is, is when they take the entire grape bunch, including the stem, and they put all of that into the crusher and the fermenter. Typically, when you're making wine, there is a de stemming process, and you pull the grapes off the stem, and that's all you put in the crusher and the fermenter. But if you keep the whole grape cluster together, you keep it on the stems, those add tannin. You can taste those on the front of your mouth as a drying sensation. And that tannin adds a longer Runway of life for the wines to age. It can also give it a little more structure. All right, like I said, Pinot Noir is grown all across the world. Let's talk about some of the main regions that you will find it in. Starting off in its birthplace of Burgundy, France in general, these wines are certainly going to be more of an earthy, floral style. Along with the fruit. You're going to get fruit, but it's not going to be quite as fruit forward. Thing about Burgundy, they are big on their sub regions. So while, yes, any red wine that is labeled Burgundy is more than likely going to be Pinot Noir, it is basically what is grown all across the region when it comes to red wine. But the thing is, sometimes the wine isn't even labeled Burgundy. It's labeled as the sub region. So I wanted to highlight three sub regions in Burgundy that are great spots, spots for Pinot Noir. The first is Gevri Chambertine. This region is located in the Cote du Nuit. It's a celebrated region for really robust and structured Pinot Noir. Like this. Pinot Noir can age for quite a while. It can stand up to kind of those, like, bigger, meatier dishes. It has these complex flavors of dark cherry, black currant, and a signature earthiness. These wines are also aged in oak barrels. And so that contributes a layer of spice and can add a hint of smoke. Another area in the Cote de Nuit is Chambol Mousigny. And this area has more elegant, aromatic Pinot Noirs. And so if you like your Pinot Noir to be a little softer, this would be a region to look at. That's the Chambol Moussonier. Last region, sub region of Burgundy that we're going to talk about is Pommard this is located in the Cote de Bonne, which means it is in, so the Burgundy. And I did a whole episode on Burgundy, so I highly recommend looking into that episode. It was after my trip to Burgundy, so this was all much more fresh and I knew more of this in my mind. But when you're thinking about Burgundy, the regions that we're talking about here, they're all located in this one region called the Cote d'. Or. And then the Cote d' or is split into two regions, the Cote de Beaune and the Cote de Nuit. Generally, most of the red wine comes from Cote de Nuit, and then the Cote de Bonne makes a lot of Chardonnay. But there are some red wine regions in the Cote de Beaune as well, and one of those is Pomard. This region tends to make a full bodied and tannic Pinot Noir. So again, kind of that big, bolder style of Pinot Noir, it has these robust flavors, black cherry, plum, and that earthy complexity. When it comes to producers, I'm going to share producers for some of these regions if I know of them. And because I visited Burgundy last September, I have some great recommendations. So these are all places that we actually had the opportunity to visit or taste their wine directly in Burgundy. I love producing this podcast for you every week, but here's the truth. It's not free. That's why I'm so grateful for sponsors like the following brands supporting me, so that I can share everything I love about wine with you. If you're able, show them some support back. Anyone else guilty of opening a bottle of wine for just one glass and then finding it a week later in the fridge? Totally undrinkable. Yeah, that used to happen to me all the time until I started using the Vacuvin Wine Saver. It's so simple to use, easy to throw in my bag if I'm heading to a friend's. And it keeps wine fresh for up to 10 days, proven by independent lab testing. Vacuvin invented the original Wine Saver back in 1986, and now over 40 million wine lovers around the world use it. With Vacuvin, you get to enjoy wine on your terms. Open Italian red for Tuesday pasta night. It'll taste just as good a week later with pizza. Go to us.vacuvin.com and use code corkandfizz for 20% off your first order. A few of the producers I would recommend, if you can get your hands on them, include Maison Shop. This is an American run winery. It's American winemaker who also has a winery in Virginia, which is kind of cool. We did an interview with them. It's him and his daughter that are running, running the show. Then we also have Jean Baptiste Jeussame. Then Bernard Patrick Monod, Domain d', Uberville, Fontaine, which definitely a little more expensive, but so, so worth it. And then Domaine Rion. Bernard. All right, moving out of France, let's talk about the U.S. there is a lot of Pinot Noir here in the US the first place a lot of people think of is California. Now, I used to have a thing against California Pinot Noirs. They just. I think because I fell in love with Oregon Pinot Noir, I was just like, California Pinot Noir could never do it. They're just not. They're not right. You know, they're. They're known as being these bigger, lush, more fruit forward wines, mostly thanks to the extra sunshine and the heat, also because they're trying to emulate, you know, that big California Cabernet style. And the thing is, that's not Pinot Noir. It doesn't have to be this big, bold thing. But I have definitely come around, and I've tried some really great Pinot Noir out of California. So some sub regions to look at. The main one that a lot of people think of is Napa Valley and Sonoma county, and specifically within there, you have Carneros and the Russian River Valley. I would say these are hit or miss. You can find some really amazing wines. Like one of our favorite wineries, Lola, is located in Calistoga in Napa Valley. And they make some amazing Pinot Noirs from, like, the Russian River Valley and around that area. So it's delicious. But I've also had some Pinot Noir that, like, didn't taste bad, but it just wasn't interesting or exciting. You know, admittedly, my favorite California region for Pinot Noir is actually Santa Barbara, and specifically the sub regions within that, Santa Maria Valley and Santa Ynez, they just. I think these emulate more of the old world styles. So think like the Burgundy style, specifically because this area has cooler temperatures, so they're a cooler climate region. This area is unique from Burgundy in that many parts of Santa Barbara county experience dense fog that rolls in off the Pacific Ocean, offering just enough moisture to be beneficial to the Pinot Noir grapes, but doesn't linger too long, so we have any problems that happen. So the wines, the Pinot Noirs from this region tend to have a really excellent structure. Lots of earthy notes, but then a modest kind of sweet fruit flavor and balanced acidity. Two of my favorite producers from this region for Pinot Noir specifically would be Tatomer and Story of Soil. And of course, I couldn't mention Pinot Noir in the US without mentioning Oregon. Willamette Valley in Oregon is where I fell in love with wine and they make delicious Pinot Noir. I consider it like a happy medium between earthy Burgundy Pinot and a bold California Pinot. These are usually a few steps lighter in color and texture than the ones in California, but I still think they carry more of that, like, fruit forward, big, bold, and more oak contact in general than the Burgundy wines. And so flavors here we're looking at cranberry, Bing cherry, and then secondary aromas of like truffle mushrooms and forest floral. Some of my favorite producers in Oregon include Archery Summit, Highland Estates, Trisatiam, Brooks Wine Domain, Drouin, and Et Fille wines, which looks more like Et Fil. It's French, so you don't speak a lot of the consonants. And I don't, I don't think I have an interview with the winemaker. It's a female winemaker there on the podcast, but I did have her in the cork group for a Q and A. And it was a really wonderful tasting. And one last spot. Now, obviously there is Pinot Noir outside of California and Oregon. I just wanted to highlight one other area which is New York. I don't have a lot of notes on it, but I do know they make Cabernet Franc, but they also do make some Pinot Noir. And one of the wineries that I would tell you to be on the lookout for would be Weiss Vineyards. All right, now we are going to head back to Europe and we're going to start in Germany. Now, in Germany you may find think they don't have Pinot Noir because they don't label it as Pinot Noir. Usually it is called Spatburgunder, which is so fun to say, I think. So in Germany, your Pinot Noir is called Spatburgunder. This is a mix of this pure fruit in naturally high acidity, lots of that fresh red cherry along with some savory notes. Some sub regions to look for in Germany would be Baden. So B, A, D, E, N. This is the southernmost wine region in Germany. It is the warmest region. So it creates these wines that are a little more full bodied, ripe and complex. So that cherry flavor in the Pinot Noir is going to be more like a baked cherry flavor. Then you get some smooth tannins and some really refreshing acidity. And then the other region R Ahr, I don't speak any German, so I'm probably butchering these. Please, please excuse me. But this region R is smaller in size and it's much further north. And the region's steep vineyards and the slate soil here create a really unique microclimate that is great at producing Pinot Noirs that are really elegant and structured. Okay, next we are going to be talking about Pinot Noir in Italy, which as well, they also have another name here, but it is much easier and easier to remember and looks more familiar. It is Pinot Nero. So basically they're just the Noir Nero. They both mean black. So you're gonna have similar earthy notes as in France, but they do get a bit riper. So think more, more fruit and like riper fruit, they're gonna be a little darker, a little richer. And some sub regions to look for would be Trentino, Alta, Adige, Lombardy and Veneto. All right, heading out of Europe and actually heading to the Southern hemisphere, you will find some great Pinot Noir in New Zealand. And you might remember this from the New Zealand episode that came out a couple weeks ago. But New Zealand is making some wonderful Pinot Noir. It's this vibrant fruit forward style still with that characteristic earthiness, though. Two sub regions to look for would be Central Otago. This is the southern part of the South Island. Really rich and robust Pinot Noir. Flavors of red and dark berries, wild thyme and this distinct minerality. And then also Marlboro, which, yes, is most famous for their Sauvignon Blanc, but they do make really great Pinot Noir as well. This is where you're gonna get those bright flavors of cherries, plums, and a little earthy spice to it. Now, just next to New Zealand in Australia, they are making some Pinot Noir. I know we tend to think of like big, bold wines from Australia, but Australia is a big country and they have lots of little sub climates. And so there are some cooler regions like the Adelaide Hills and Yarra Valley that are producing some really nice, medium bodied, bright fruit flavored Pinot Noirs. And then of course, heading over to South America. Chile is a wonderful spot for budget friendly Pinot Noir. Typically lighter in body with fresh acidity and red fruit flavors. Some sub regions to look for would be Casablanca Valley and San Antonio Valley. And we're going to head back to Europe one more time because did you know Pinot Noir is one of the three main grapes in Champagne? Yes, champagne, our sparkling wine. Yes, Champagne is normally a, you know, it's clear white in color, and basically they just take the skins off the Pinot Noir and then it contributes a lot of flavor without contributing the red color. It does a lot for champagne's potential for aging. It allows the wine to mature and evolve into these really complex secondary tertiary notes. A lot more of that earthy note. And also you can actually find champagnes that are made purely from Pinot Noir. And I'm not saying they're are as well, but like white, sparkling, regular Champagne. This is called Blanc de Noir. You have to be on the lookout for this because there are technically two red grapes in Champagne that are commonly used to make the Blanc de Noir. So definitely ask. But blanc de Noir basically just means like white of red. So they made a white wine from red grapes. Okay. Last thing I want to talk about when talking about Pinot Noir is just some like, logistical stuff. These are kind of the questions that I often get when it comes to different wines. Like, you know, what serving temperature should I decant this, how old should I let it age? All that good stuff. So starting off serving temperature, you want your wine to be what we consider in the wine world cellar temperature, just basically like slightly chilled, between like 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The lower the alcohol content, the lower the temp you can go on the wine. If your wine is at room temperature, you don't have a cellar, you're like, I don't know how to achieve this cellar temperature. Just place your wine in the fridge for about 30 minutes before you serve it. And along with that, it's not a bad idea to decant your wine. So decanting wine is simply taking the wine from the bottle and putting it in a larger container so that more of the wine can be in contact with oxygen. You can do this with an actual decanter. This is a device that looks kind of like a vase, but you could also use a pitcher or, or I'm trying to think of like, you know, you could use other things. Just make sure they're food safe. And you wanted to cant it for about 30 minutes would help open it up a little bit and get a lot of flavor going on. I'm usually not picky when it comes to glassware with wine, though I do always recommend like an actual wine glass. And specifically with Pinot Noir, it's not a bad idea to kind of like splurge and get yourself one of those really large, like bell shaped glasses. These are called aroma collectors. It's where the bottom of the bowl is much bigger than the top, like the rim of the glass where you put your mouth. And what that does is it collects all the aromas in the wine. So then when you get your nose in there, you just smell all the flavors of the wine. And since Pinot Noir has so many aromas to it, it is so worth it having one of these glasses. In terms of aging, most Pinot Noir is best within about three to five years. But some top bottles, especially from Burgundy, Oregon, some from California, they can age 10 to 20 years. One of the things to look out for is that whole cluster. Winemaking and long oak aging can be signs of a wine worthy of aging for a longer amount of time. In terms of cost, it's a really wide range. So entry level, you're looking at about 15 to$25. You'll find these maybe in Chile, Oregon, California, maybe, maybe Burgundy, but probably looking closer to 30 or $35. Mid range, about 40 to $60. This is where most of your California, Oregon and kind of like regional or village level Burgundy, Pinot Noir will be found. And then of course, you have the iconic Burgundy or high end California wines. And these can be anywhere like 100, $200 plus. Like they get very expensive very quickly. You can find Pinot Noir, especially from Burgundy, in the thousands of dollars per bottle range. In my opinion, you should probably expect to spend at least 25 to $30 to get yourself a good bottle of Pinot Noir. I do think under that it's just because it's such a hard grape to grow and there's so many things that have to happen and it's hard, you know, in winemaking as well, you do have to pay a little bit more for it. So trying to find like a ten to fifteen dollar bottle of Pinot is a little bit harder to do. As I mentioned at the beginning of the episode, when it comes to food pairing, Pinot Noir is very much a catch all food pairing. If you're not sure what to pair with your meal, go for a Pinot Noir. It's light enough for salmon, especially grilled salmon, and complex enough for richer meats. The higher acidity and lighter tannins in the wine make it incredibly food friendly. It's also a perfect Thanksgiving wine. If you're looking for more of a classic pairing, you could go with duck. The acidity in Pinot Noir will cut through the fat and the gamey flavors of the duck. Or you could go with any like, fatty dish that uses mushrooms. Pinot Noir and mushrooms. Best friends, they just they go together so well, especially in old world style. So think something from Europe. All right? I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did. If you know a wine lover in your life that would enjoy this, please share it with them. Take a snapshot of this episode, send it their way, let them know to learn a little bit more about Pinot Noir. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. I release new episodes every Wednesday. In next week's episode, I'll be highlighting four incredible Washington wineries that you've probably never heard of before, but you definitely need to try. Thanks again for listening. And if you want to learn more about wine, come follow me at corkandfizz on Instagram. Cheers.