By Robert Giles

A question I hear often is, “where should I start with red wine?”

Sometimes, people are interested in trying drier wines than they are used to or they are completely new to wine all together. One of my go-to suggestions is Pinot Noir; and there are a few reasons for that. It is an easily approachable wine that allows a person's palate to acclimate to the new flavors of dry, red wine without being discouraging.

Here, I would like to look at the grape itself and some of the variations that you will find from different regions to give you a foothold on a new journey with wine.

The Pinot Noir grape itself is a temperamental variety for farmers to grow. While other varieties can acclimate to many different environments and maintain a sense of consistency, Pinot Noir is well known for its expression of terroir, or a sense of place.

There can be wide variance in flavors from grapes grown only miles from each other. For the farmers, the early budding nature of the vine leads to a susceptibility to frost damage while the thinner skin of the grape can lead to the danger of mildew, rot, and viruses. The end results of the product, however, lead to fantastic and approachable wines that make it all worthwhile.

Some of the most well-known areas for Pinot Noir are France, New Zealand, Oregon, and California. In general, these wines will show plenty of red fruit flavors (strawberry, raspberry, and red cherry) with a high acidity and lower tannins. These qualities are what make it so approachable while still being worth exploration.

French Pinot Noirs from the Burgundy region range from the acidic and fresh fruit flavors of the common wines to the intense and complex ripe fruits of village wines. This is the home of Pinot Noir and has some of the most nuanced wines available.

The Burgundy, or Bourgogne, wines are easily approachable with some nuances that make them worth exploring. This is where you will find wines like Louis Jadot Bourgogne Pinot Noir and Albert Bichot Bourgogne Pinot Noir. From there you can move into the complex and age-worthy wines such as Nicolas Potel Gevrey-Chambertin or Chartron et Trebuchet Pommard.

New Zealand may be most known for its Sauvignon Blanc but the Marlborough and Central Otago regions are putting out some fantastic examples of Pinot Noir worthy of the world stage.

Marlborough's cool climate lends itself well to the grape with true to style wines such as Mount Riley Pinot Noir or Oyster Bay Pinot Noir. The more southern and warmer Central Otogo region, in contrast, produces stronger bodied Pinot Noirs with rich, ripe fruit flavors. These qualities are very evident in Roaring Meg Pinot Noir.

There are two main regions for Pinot Noir in the US, Oregon and California, and both rely on the cooling effect of the Pacific Ocean.

California production stays near the coastal regions in the north, mostly in Sonoma. Generally these wines tend to have ripe red fruit flavors with notes of vanilla from the oak aging. These are evident in Crossbarn by Paul Hobbs and Gehricke Sonoma Pinot Noir.

Oregon has staked its wine identity on Pinot Noir and it is something to behold. The cooler climate leads to many complex flavors with fresh red fruit and subtle notes of baking spices from the oak barrels. Ken Wright Cellars Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and Willamette Valley Vineyards Whole Cluster are great examples of this.

The wide breadth of Pinot Noir means that even though this is an approachable wine for those just starting to get into red wine it is still one with plenty to explore. The lower tannins of the wine can help ease your palate into this new realm of flavors while the strong fruit flavors and acidity make this an easy drinking and refreshing option.

Hopefully these will give a few options that you can try but if you are still unsure we have our wine experts on hand to help guide you to your perfect bottle of Pinot Noir to begin your red wine journey. Cheers!