According to the Days of the Year website, this coming Thursday is National Pinot Noir Day.
We’re not sure whether it’s an actual “thing,” but why argue? It just gives us one more reason to pop open a bottle of one of the wine world’s most alluring reds.
Once grown almost exclusively in the Burgundy region of France, Pinot Noir today has many homes.
Start in California’s Santa Barbara County, then work your way up to Monterey County, the Petaluma Gap, the Sonoma Coast, the Russian River Valley, Mendocino County and Anderson Valley. Then venture farther north into Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
The fruit varies from region to region and vineyard to vineyard, and the treatment it receives in the cellar also can vary. But a majority of vintners — from Santa Barbara to the Willamette Valley — embrace traditional Burgundian techniques.
And why not? French Burgundy is one of the most coveted types of wine on Earth.
In the Burgundy appellation of France, the winemakers eschew must pumps and refrigeration, and don’t use any fancy equipment.
Instead, they opt for manual punchdowns and other procedures that treat the fruit gently and squeeze out every drop of flavor.
So even though those flavors may vary slightly from winery to winery or bottle to bottle, Pinot Noir will always delight the palate with its full mouthfeel and engaging flavors.
And those flavors provide one more reason to open a bottle on National Pinot Noir Day… or any day.
