Pinot Noir: The Ultimate Food Wine?

by Randal Caparoso

Food wine…now there's an expression inviting debate. The wine snobs don't like it because they believe that the quality of wines should go beyond that of matching food; something moving, mystical, or "awesome" as one famous wine writer is wont to say. The vast majority of wine consumers, on the other hand, primarily think of wine either as something to go with a meal—a medium-done cheeseburger with an easy-drinking Cabernet Sauvignon, open-fire grilled fish and Chinese cabbages with a light, snappy, fragrant Spanish Albarino or lemony-zested French Sauvignon Blanc—or as a cocktail. It's up to you to decide to which camp you belong.

One can make the argument that the ultimate food wines—the only ones you should be stuck with on a desert island—are those made from the French grape Pinot Noir. Why? It's a red wine, with moderate degrees of tannin (the stuff derived from the skins and seeds of fermenting grapes), so it goes perfectly well with meats with some degree of fattiness—especially with a twist of pepper or slightly bitter vegetables on the side. But the tannin of Pinot Noir is also very soft, very tender, making this usually a very sleek, smooth, easy-drinking red wine which goes just as well with white meats like fish, veal, pork and chicken. In fact, a slightly chilled bottle of typical Pinot Noir is just as soft and easy to drink as most California Chardonnays.

There was an interesting story in a recent New Yorker magazine issue (Aug. 19-26, 2002) about tests run by staff at the University of California at Davis. These tests proved that, under certain circumstances—in this case, when a white wine and a red are poured at room temperature into black glasses so that tasters cannot see the color of the wines, most wine consumers, including experienced connoisseurs, cannot tell the difference between the taste of white wine and red. This is not surprising, since everyone in the world places enormous stock on visual first impressions. We see something, and we simply presuppose how it's going to smell and taste. We know that apples, for instance, are crisp, sweet and drippy. But if we close our eyes, hold our nose and bite into an onion, chances are we won't be able to tell the difference because onions are also crisp, sweet and drippy.

Telling the difference between a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir served at the same cool temperatures with our eyes closed can be just as problematic. Both wines tend to be full in alcohol and fairly soft in feel, and taste somewhat like spiced fruit and smoke (the latter quality derived from the charred oak barrels in which Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are typically aged before bottling). But unless you are particularly conscious of the subtle, aromatic nuances between the two—Chardonnays tend to smell like apples or pears and Pinot Noirs like red berries—you won't be able to tell the difference. If you don't believe me, try it. Break out the black bandanas at your next wine party.

A well-known wine personality named Joshua Wesson once described Pinot Noir as a "cross dresser." It's a red wine that thinks it's a white because it's crisp and soft enough to go with more "white-wine dishes" than most white wines. This is why Pinot Noir may be the ultimate food wine. Here are its classic food matches:

• Leaner meats (veal, chicken, turkey, rabbit, any game bird, filets of beef or pork, and a well-drained duck)
• Smoked, wood-roasted, braised or sausage meats (with the use of beef, lamb and pork)
  
• Earthy flavors (truffles, wild mushrooms, mustards, peppercorns, coriander and horseradish)
  
• Resin-like or scented green herbs (rosemary, thyme, tarragon, oregano, summer and winter savory, chervil, mints and basils)
  
• Aromatic sweet spices (clove, cinnamon, mace, allspice and nutmeg)
  
• Sweet vegetables (tomatoes, beets, carrots, caramelized onions and bell peppers)
  
• Autumnal fruits (figs, plums, blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, currants, and black and dried cherries)
  
• Natural stocks and sauces rounded with butter
  
• Slow-cooking processes (braises and pot-at-feu)
  
• Mild or creamy cheeses (Brie, Camembert, herbed crèmes, cheddars, Havarti and jacks)

Put any balanced combination of the above into a dish, and there's a good chance you'll have a match for the soft, velvety, earthy, smoky, sweet-berry, spice and earth-toned qualities of Pinot Noir. But lately consumers of more contemporary styles of foods and wines have been discovering just how far, and effortlessly, Pinot Noir will go beyond Brie, beyond boeuf bourguignon, beyond coq a vin, and even beyond fig-stuffed pigeon and other proven settings.

When you sear scallops with powerfully aromatic truffles or truffle oil, for instance, all of a sudden it's a dish for Pinot Noir rather than anything white. In Oregon, winemakers like to serve their Pinot Noir with Northwest Native-American–style plank-smoked salmon. In Hawaii, it's all about the finest tuna in the world in brothy, earthy ponzus.

Pinot Noir is also license to drink red wine with sweet/spicy, earth-toned or mildly bitter Asian flavors such as star anise, wasabi, hoisin, Japanese radishes, seaweeds, lotus root, fennel, toasted sesame seeds, sesame oil, mizuna, shiso, shiitakes, and even mild teriyaki marinades and glazes. All of these can actually bring out the mildly sweet, zippy, toasty, earthy, and wonderfully beefy qualities of Pinot Noir, just as the wine can bring out the same qualities in the food. No question, the taste of Pinot Noir becomes altered in exotic food contexts. Snobby wine connoisseurs may protest, but who cares? It's a natural way to the life we've always craved—one wine-altering, and mind-altering, experience after another.

What do you look for in a Pinot Noir? Good brands that retail between $12 and $24 are Witness Tree, Griffin Creek, King Estate and Rex Hill from Oregon; and Bear Boat, Iron Horse, Handley, J Wine Company, Costa de Oro, Fetzer, and De Loach from California.

If you're willing to spend more (between $25 and $50), then you'll be blown away by Domaine Alfred, Etude, Littorai, Williams Selyem, Flowers, Talley, Fiddlehead, Au Bon Climat or Ici/La-Bas from California. From Oregon, the "big guns" (although the style of Pinot Noir made in Oregon is very delicate, fine and silky) are Archery Summit, Rex Hill "Reserve," Ponzi "Reserve," Chehalem, Cristom, Ken Wright, Beaux Freres, Willa Kenzie and Willamette Valley Vineyards. There are more high-quality producers, of course, but this is as good a start as any. Eyes wide open or shut, it's hard to go wrong with Pinot Noir at any table!

Check out Pinot Noir tasting notes

© Randal Caparoso