What is White Pinot Noir?

The Pinot Noir grape is a red grape most famously known for the production of red Burgundy. And today's new world Pinot Noir wines, especially from California and Oregon, are wonderfully delicate light bodied red wines with flavors of cherry, raspberry, strawberry, cranberry and black plum.  But did you know that there is a white Pinot Noir? And what, might you ask, is white Pinot Noir? 

Let's first take one step back. The juice from a red grape and a white grape is nearly clear.  It's the process of making red wine, in which the grape skins are left in contact with the juice as it ferments, that colors it red. So, quite simply, white Pinot Noir is wine made from the juice of the Pinot Noir grape, but the juice is immediately removed from the grape skins before fermentation. So you end up with a white wine.

Now you're probably wondering if it's anything like that other white wine (rosé) made from a red grape, white Zinfandel.  Well, sort of, but not exactly.  White Zinfandel became wildly popular mostly because of its high residual sugar. It's somewhat sweet.  But most of the white Pinot Noir being produced is dry, having little or no residual sugar. And while white Zinfandel is actually pink in color (a rosé), white Pinot Noir ranges in color from pale yellow, similar to Chardonnay, to a deep golden hue.  Typically white Pinot Noir is not aged in oak barrels so you get a lot of the bright crisp fruit flavors of pear, with hints of lemon, orange and honey.  An oaked white Pinot Noir will take on the rich flavors of baked apple or baked pear.

Before you write-off white Pinot Noir as a gimmick or just the latest trend, realize that Pinot Noir is one of the primary grapes used to make Champagne, along with Pinot Muenier (another red grape) and Chardonnay.  So white Pinot Noir has a very long and illustrious history. You might have heard of white Pinot Noir as Blanc de Noir in France or Vin Gris of Pinot Noir.

Bottles of white Pinot Noir are a bit difficult to find but if you happen to see one, or have the opportunity to try a glass, by all means do. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week

2014 Charles & Charles Cabernet Sauvignon & Syrah ($12)

This red blend from Washington State's Columbia Valley is another from Charles Smith, this time in collaboration with Charles Bieler. Although having the requisite 75% of Cabernet Sauvignon to be labeled as Cabernet Sauvignon, this pair has chosen to identify both the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Syrah (the other 25%) on the label. They describe it as "...bringing together the structure and dense black currant flavors of Cabernet Sauvignon and the sumptuous dark fruit and spice of whole cluster Syrah."  This is a big and bold red that is very nicely done and a great value. Enjoy a glass with some bold cheeses, BBQ or a steak.

The Serving Temperature Can Dramatically Affect the Way a Wine Tastes

Wine should be fun and enjoyable. And, my motto on EverWonderWine.com is 'Drink what you like.' So, I try to keep things simple and make your wine experience more enjoyable.  And while the temperature of the wine you drink may seem unimportant, or even a bit snobbish to talk about, it really can affect your wine experience.

The bottom line is that the temperature at which a wine is served matters.  And here's why.  The 'proper' serving temperature will ensure that you get the best experience from your wine.  Serve it too cold or too warm and you can loose a lot of the wine's character.

This is partly due to your nose and how a wine's aroma works along with its taste. And, aroma is greatly affected by the wine's temperature.  A cold wine will have less of an aroma because fewer of the volatile compounds will be released from the wine. Conversely, a warmer wine will easily release these compounds and give you an opportunity to experience the wine's full aroma.

Then there's the way a wine tastes.  Serving a white wine too cold will mute its fruit flavors. White wines taste good when they are served cool because of their acidity and negligible tannin. The fruit flavors are zippy and bright and a bit of a chill will enhance this.  But full bodied white wines that have been aged in oak (e.g., Chardonnay) are best served not quite so cool to allow you experience the buttery and vanilla flavors that oak imparts.

Serving a red wine too cold will emphasize its acidity, bitterness and tannin.   But serving a red wine at room temperature is a bit too warm and can make it seem heavy, lifeless and emphasize the alcohol, yielding a burning sensation in your throat.

So, here are some general guidelines for the 'proper' serving temperatures of wines:

• Sparkling Wine: 42° - 50° F

• Light Whites: 46° - 54° F

• Full Bodied Whites: 54° - 60° F

• Rosé: 45° - 55° F

• Light Reds: 50° - 54° F

• Medium Reds: 57° - 63° F

• Full Bodied Reds: 59° - 65° F

And while most people don't have specialized multi-zone wine refrigerators to precisely control their wine temperatures, or take the time to use a fancy wine thermometer, here are a couple quick rules-of-thumb.  Sparkling wine can be stored and served directly from a kitchen refrigerator. With white wine, place it in your kitchen refrigerator 30-60 minutes before serving. Or, if it's been stored in a kitchen refrigerator, remove it 30 minutes before serving.  For red wines, put them in a kitchen refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. This way, your white wines will be cool but not cold and your reds will be slightly cooled and not too warm.

If you really like your red and white wines at kitchen refrigerator temperatures or your red wines at room temperature, go ahead and continue enjoying them. But at some point, give these temperature suggestions a try. Who knows, you might find that your favorite wines are even better at the recommended temperatures. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week

Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay ($12)

This Chardonnay out of Livermore Valley California (East of San Francisco) is a well balanced Chardonnay, meaning that everything works together beautifully. Because it is fermented in 50% neutral American oak barrels and 50% in stainless steel tanks it retains its great fruit flavors with just a hint of vanilla. While having a creamy mouth feel its the fresh fruit character that really comes through. Enjoy this one with a light white fish, pork, chicken or a selection of mild white cheeses.

Looking for a Sweet Champagne Can Be a Bit Confusing

Champagne is a great drink. It's most often consumed in times of celebration. Champagne and joy naturally go together. But "Champagne" is often misunderstood. And splurging on a $100 bottle may result in disappointment.

First, let's take a step back. Champagne is a sparkling wine that is produced in the relatively small region of Champagne in France. Only those sparkling wines produced in this region are allowed to be labeled as 'Champagne.' 

There are also multiple styles of Champagne produced. It is most common to find Brut, Dry and Extra Dry Champagnes on store shelves.  These styles have a direct correlation with the amount of residual sugar (RS) in them. For those seeking a sweet Champagne, you're going to want to look for 'Dry' Champagne. This is a bit confusing since a dry wine typically has little or no residual sugar and will have no sweetness to it. But, in Champagnes, 'Dry' means that there can be 17% to 35% RS and be quite sweet on your tongue.

Here are all the styles of Champagne that are produced:

• Extra Brut: 0-6% RS

• Brut: 0-15% RS

• Extra Dry: 12-20% RS

• Dry: 17-35% RS

• Demi Sec: 35-50% RS

• Doux: Greater than 50% RS

So if you are looking for a sweet Champagne, look for the 'Dry,' 'Demi Sec,' or 'Doux' designations on the label.

Here's to raising a glass of Champagne at your next joyous occasion. Cheers!