Get to Know the Pinots -- Pinot Meunier

In previous blogs we got an overview of the Pinot grape and the tremendous number of Pinot synonyms (258!).

But, there are just four Pinot wine grapes that we’ll now focus on - Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Meunier. But, let’s save those three for later and start with probably the least known of the Pinots but one that plays a very important role- Pinot Meunier.

The word Meunier (mun·yay) is French for "Miller", and gets its name from the grapevines because the hairy underside of its leaves makes it look as though it had been dredged in flour.

Pinot Meunier is a dark-berried grape variety that is mostly grown in France (more than 3/4s of the worlds Pinot Meunier production). While you are less likely to find a Pinot Meunier varietal wine (it does make a very Pinot Noir-like red wine), you’ve more likely experienced it in a blend; namely Champagne. It is one of the three primary grapes used in the production of Champagne along with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Pinot Meunier Grapes

And, yes, the Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir grapes are dark-skinned but used in Champagne. The grapes are simply pressed to release their juice which is immediately separated from the skins. Remember, it the skins of the grapes that give the wine its color.

In Champagne, Pinot Meunier provides aromatics and fruit flavors to the wine such as cherry, raspberry and pomegranate. Pinot Meunier doesn’t tend to age well so Champagnes with a substantial proportion of Pinot Meunier are intended to be consumed young when its fruit flavors are at their peak.

So, that a quick look at the first of the Pinots. Next time we’ll move on to Pinot Gris. Cheers!

Get to Know the Pinots -- And the Most Common Synonyms!

Last time, in an overview of wine’s called Pinot , it was noted that if you were to do a search on “Pinot” wine grapes you could come up with a list that includes at least 26 different ones. In fact, according to the New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia, there are 258 official synonyms!

But, for brevity, here’s the list of the 26 Pinots that you might have actually heard of:

  • Pinot Aigret (Synonym for Rufete)

  • Pinot d’Anjou or Pinot d’Aunis (Synonym for Pineau d’Aunis)

  • Pinot Beurot or Pinot Burot (Synonym for Pinot Gris)

  • Pinot Bianco (Synonym for Pinot Blanc)

  • Pinot Blanc

  • Pinot Blanc Cramant or Pinot Blanc Chardonnay (Synonym for Chardonnay)

  • Pinot Blanco (Synonym for Chenin Blanc)

  • Pinot Blanc Vrai (Synonym for Pinot Blanc)

  • Pinot Branco (Synonym for Pinot Blanc)

  • Pinot Chardonnay (Synonym for Chardonnay)

  • Pinot Droit or Pinot Fin (Synonym for Pinot Noir)

  • Pinot d’Evora (Synonym for Carignan)

  • Pinot Fin Teinturier or Pinot Teinturier (A parent of the Chardonnay grape)

  • Pinot Fleri (Synonym for Mourvédre)

  • Pinot Giallo (Synonym for Chardonnay)

  • Pinot Grigio (Synonym for Pinot Gris)

  • Pinot Gris (Also known as Pinot Grigio)

  • Pinot Liébault (A clone of Pinot Noir)

  • Pinot de la Loire (Synonym for Chenin Blanc)

  • Pinot Meunier (One of three primary grapes used to produce Champagne)

  • Pinot Nero (Synonym for Pinot Noir)

  • Pinot Noir (The star of the show!)

  • Pinot Noir Précoce (Synonym for Frûhburgunder)

  • Pinot St George (Synonym for Négrette)

  • Pinot Vache (Synonym for Mondeuse)

  • Pinot Verdet (Synonym for Arbois)

Next time, we’ll start looking into the most widely known Pinots - Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Meunier.

Get to Know the Pinots

Grapes are grown worldwide typically for eating or for winemaking.

There are 17 genera (the plural of genus) that belong to the Vitaceae family of flowering plants. But just the one genus, Vitis, is important in the world of winemaking. And, of the nearly 80 species in this genus, just one, Vitis vinifera is generally grown for wine.

It is estimated that there are more than 10,000 grape varieties in cultivation. But, with today’s ability to do DNA analysis, it is thought that this number is actually around 5,000.

Now, if you were to do a search on “Pinot” wine grapes you could come up with a list that includes at least 26 different ones. But, many of these are simply synonyms for other grapes.

So, when it comes to the “Pinot” grapes, there are six primary clonal variations:

  • Pinot Noir/Pinot Nero

  • Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio

  • Pinot Blanc/Pinot Bianco

  • Pinot Meunier

  • Pinot Teinturier

  • Pinot Noir Précoce

In future blogs we’ll take a further look at these 6 as well as provide a full listing of the 26 “Pinot” grapes. Until then, cheers!

The New Grapes to be Included in Bordeaux Wine Blends

There are many different types of grapes grown in Bordeaux and used in their famous wines.

In the past, there were just six varietals allowed for making red wine in Bordeaux: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Carménre. White wines were limited to the use of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Muscadelle, Sauvignon Gris, Colombard, Ugni Blanc, Merlot Blanc, Mauzac, and Ondenc.

But in January of 2021, the governing body in Bordeaux allowed four new red varieties, including Touriga Nacional, Marselan, Castets, and Arinarnoa, as well as two white varieties, Alvarinho and Liliorila. This was done to give more viticultural options to grape growers to address climate change and combat less hospitable conditions. The new grapes will be listed officially as "new varieties of interest for adapting to climate change". This puts them third in the hierarchy behind "major" and "additional" grapes in official documents. This status will again be reviewed in 2031.

Under current restrictions, usage of the new varieties is limited. They may only account for five percent of the planted vineyard area, and a maximum of ten percent of a wine blend. Because of France's wine labeling regulations, these new varieties will not appear on Bordeaux labels. So, these changes to battle climate change will go relatively unnoticed for now.

Although you may not notice any real change in Bordeaux wine blends, they are changing as the world’s climate is changing. Cheers!

The Italian Lacrima Wine Grape

The Lacrima (lak-kree-mah) grape variety is one that I recently came across in a rosé blend. It is a native grape from the Marche region of Italy.

It is also known by the name of the wine that is used produce - Lacrima di Morro d'Alba.

The name of the grape seems to have derived from the fact that the berries, when ripe, ooze juice droplets that appear as tears (lacrima means tear in Italian). This is one of the reasons that the variety has had such a decline in the early 20th Century – the split grapes attract pests and diseases and were largely replaced by grape varieties that were easier to cultivate. But, there has been a recent rediscovery of the Lacrima grape and it is being replanted.

It has a black berry, with thick and consistent, blue-black colored skin. It produces intense ruby red wines with purple hues. The nose can be aromatic with notes of violets. With age, it can develop notes of strawberry, cherry, blackberries and blueberries. Lacrima di Morro d’Alba is a medium bodied wine with smooth tannins. And, it also works very well as a blending grape. Cheers!