Cherry, rose and forest floor: the most food-friendly red grape there is.
Where it grows
Pinot Noir’s home is Burgundy, in eastern France, where it makes the region’s great red wines on the slopes of the Côte d’Or. It is also one of the three main grapes of Champagne, and it grows on the Luxembourg Moselle, where it goes into still reds, rosés and Crémant de Luxembourg.
It loves cool climates. Germany, where it is called Spätburgunder, now makes some of the best Pinot outside France. Oregon, New Zealand, Tasmania and the cooler corners of California and Chile are also famous for it. It is thin-skinned and fussy, which makes it hard to grow and easy to love.
How it tastes
Pinot Noir is pale in colour, light to medium-bodied, with bright acidity and soft, silky tannin. Young, it tastes of red cherry, raspberry and strawberry, often with rose petals and a touch of spice.
With age, it becomes savoury and earthy: mushroom, forest floor, game and truffle. Most Pinot sees some oak, but good producers use it gently so the fruit stays clear. Cool places give fresh, red-fruited wines; warmer places give riper, darker ones.
What to eat with it
- Roast chicken: the classic. Soft tannin and earthy fruit love crisp skin and gravy.
- Grilled salmon: low tannin means no metallic taste with oily fish.
- Duck breast: bright acidity cuts the fat; cherry notes echo a fruit sauce.
- Mushroom risotto: earthy wine, earthy food.
- Bœuf bourguignon: it is cooked in Pinot Noir, so pour the same grape.
A little history
Pinot Noir is one of the oldest grape varieties still grown, cultivated in Burgundy for at least a thousand years. Cistercian monks studied its vineyards plot by plot in the Middle Ages and noticed how each one gave a different wine. That idea, that place shapes taste, is at the heart of Burgundy’s patchwork of climats, now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Pinot also mutates easily: Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are colour variations of the same family.
One bottle to start with
Friedrich Becker Spätburgunder from the Pfalz (about €17.80). A seventh-generation family estate on the German–French border, making silky, cherry-scented Pinot. For bubbles, the Sunnen-Hoffmann Crémant Blanc de Noir (about €19.70) is 100% Pinot Noir from the Luxembourg Moselle.
Good to know
- “Blanc de Noirs” sparkling wine is white wine made from black grapes, often Pinot Noir: the juice is pale, the colour is in the skins.
- Pinot Noir is called Spätburgunder in Germany and Blauburgunder in Austria and Switzerland.
- Serve it cool, at 14–16 °C, in a wide glass that lets the aromas open.
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Photo: Pixabay
Prices were checked in October 2026 and can change. Please drink responsibly. L’abus d’alcool est dangereux pour la santé, à consommer avec modération.