QandAs: Food

What is a Pinot Noir?

Answer:
A Pinot Noir is actually a grape variety used

to make red wine. The grape is of deep purple color, and grows worldwide, though mostly in cooler climates. The Pinot Noir grape is often associated with the Burgundy region of France. The Parker's Wine Buying Guide describes Pinot Noir wine as follows: "When it's great, pinot noir produces the most complex, hedonistic, and remarkably thrilling red wine in the world."

Pinot Noir red wine is one of the most popular wines in the world, and recently became highly popular among American, Australian, New Zealand and Asian consumers, largely because of the movie "Sideways", a 2004 award winning comedy/drama in which one of the lead characters (Miles-played by Paul Giamatti) frequently makes fond references to Pinot Noir wine.

In the movie, Miles is a recently divorced man who takes his friend on a road trip through the Santa Ynez Valley wine country, as he is eager to drink good wine, play golf, and eat good food, in an effort to celebrate his friend's (Jack-played by Thomas Hayden Church) upcoming wedding.

The Pinot Noir grape itself is quite ancient, and even though natural cross-pollination and hybridizing have taken place over the generations, Pinot Noir wine grapes are considered by some as being "only slightly removed from wild grapes".

Other varieties such as pinot gris, pinot blanc and pinot meunier are related to Pinor Noir, and there are about 46 "clones" of Pinot Noir currently used in France.