Getting To Know The Sexy-As-Hell Pinot Noir
Photo by cottonbro
International Pinot Noir Day is August 18 and NASTY WOMAN WINES is ready to raise a glass of our Pantsuit Pinot Noir to toast to this most vexing and rewarding of grapes.
To celebrate this fine beauty, let us first fully introduce you. Pinot Noir grapes are darkly colored, tightly clustered, and finicky, inspiring famed winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff to say, “God made cabernet sauvignon but the devil made pinot noir.”
Despite being notoriously difficult to grow, they do best in cooler climates, which is why Oregon produces the most Pinot Noirs in the country, second only to California. On the same latitude as the Burgundy region of France, the Willamette Valley of Oregon has become world-renown for its many vineyards. Our rich dark soil, the grey misty winter days, the dry and bright summers – these all combine to create luscious, delightful wines.
This red wine is rightfully one of the most loved wines, given its highly aromatic nature, with a delightful fruit-forward flavor and light mouthfeel, as well as its history. It’s an ancient grape that literally defined the concept of terroir, while also still benefiting from more modern accolades. Paul Giometti waxing poetic about pinot noirs so eloquently in the movie Sideways, inspiring a 20% worldwide consumption increase of that particular grape (sadly Merlot cannot say the same).
It is also incredibly diverse. Historically a lighter berry-perfumed red wine, more recently it has been produced with cleaner flavor profiles. But with over 40 mutations, Pinot Noir varieties can truly run the gamut.
NASTY WOMAN WINES has produced a gorgeous vintage from biodynamically grown Oregon Pinot Noir grapes. We age our wine in barrels that are 30% new French oak, imparting toasted aromas and hints of vanilla. The remaining barrel is composed of neutral oak, allowing the natural flavors of the grape to shine through.
Our NASTY WOMAN WINE has aromas of anise, rose, cherry, mushroom, and even a touch of clove. Its flavors are cherry, mushrooms, earth, and rose. It pairs well with duck, chicken, pork, and cheese, as well as a sharp wit and strong opinions, and has an impeccable silky finish. We think a glass of this wine will have you agreeing with Master Sommelier Madeline Triffon who likened Pinot Noir to “sex in a glass.”
Temperamental, complex, and when treated well, redolent with flavor. NASTY WOMAN WINES Pinot Noirs are sexy as hell, feminist AF, and demanding to be appreciated for what it’s worth.