It’s a fussy, temperamental grape and it used to cost a fortune. Now it’s being grown from California to Tasmania – and it’s more affordable
Pinot noir is the world’s most dangerously seductive grape variety. Fussy to the point of absurdity about the climatic and geological conditions in which it will deign to perform, and easily spoiled in the winery, it has been known to break hearts and careers, making despairing Jean de Florettes of even the most seasoned winemakers.
Yet it’s still invited into vineyards all over the world, a homogenising, gentrifying force, replacing perfectly good, well-adapted local grape varieties, turning good winemakers bad, and the wines it produces are almost never as good as the hype and the prices suggest.
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