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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Red Wine and Dine with Pinot Noir


Single Bottle Wine Club
Huge Red Wine collection 

Andre' Tchelistcheff, the famous California wine maker once said "God made Cabernet Sauvignon, but the devil made Pinot Noir"; what is Pinot Noir? It is a red wine whose characteristics can best be described as having a sensual, silky texture and a variety of seductive aromas which include: strawberry, cherry, black cherry, raspberry, violet, cinnamon, sassafras, mushrooms, truffles, rose petal, fresh earth and barnyard. (although not agreed upon by all, the barnyard aroma is meant to be a positive description which refers to fresh earth as found on a farm, but can also refer to bacterial spoilage called Brettanomyces).

Pinot Noir loves a cool climate where it can ripen slowly, but maintain vivacious acidity. Soils of chalk and limestone that drain well make the wines work hard to survive and thus produce great wine. It's health benefits are possible because, the grapes must work hard to protect themselves from disease and rotting in cool climate, and as a result produce more anti-oxidants; it has 4 times more resveratrol then other wines. This thin skinned berry is known as the "heartbreak grape" because of it's difficulty to grow and is unstable even when bottled. For this reason, you often pay more for Pinot Noir then most other red wines

In the 2004 movie Sideways, the character Miles, discusses with Maya, the virtues of Pinot Noir which he considers the antithesis of plummery Merlot that can lack acidity; because of this commercial boost it is now one of the fastest growing red wines in North America.
Among the oldest of grapes grown to make wine by ancient Romans, Pinot Noir now thrives in many regions such as Austria, and Germany (known as Spatburgunder in both regions), Niagara, Okanagan Valley, Italy (Pinot Hero), New Zealand, Switzerland (Dole) Oregon and California. Cooler regions such as Caneros, Russian River alley and Anderson Valley in the Sonoma Valley, Santa Maria alley (Santa Barbara Valley) and Monterey County. The most famous region is Burgundy, France and especially the Burgundian sub-region Cote d' Or (Slope of Gold), where famous names such as Domaine Romanee-Conti and Laflaive grace labels.

Pinot Noir pairs with a variety of beef, turkey, chicken, fish, pork dishes and more because it is flavorful but not heavy in alcohol, oak or tannin. The best matches include: prime ribs, roast beef, brisket, turkey, pork tenderloin, mushroom and truffle dishes. Also on the menu are: Cog au Vin (chicken cooked in red wine), Beef Bourguigonne (beef coked in red wine) grilled salmon, cassoulet, roasted and braised lamb, pheasant, duck, shark, swordfish and tuna with rosemary; eat, drink and be merry.


16 comments:

  1. Kelly Blackwell @ Heres My Take On ItJanuary 24, 2013 at 8:52 PM

    I tend to be pretty much a wine wimp. I love wine, but I get drunk at two glasses. Typically I prefer a Pinot Grigio. I've never tried Pino Noir simply because I have been afraid of reds. Your description is giving me a second thought. There are a lot of great wineries here in AZ. Maybe when the weather gets warmer we'll do a wine day trip. :) Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Two glasses of wine is my limit, nothing worse than a wine hangover, LOL! Thanks for stopping by

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  • Hi DeAnna - i have just started to enjoy wine, and I am still in the process of figuring out what I like. So this is a very interesting post to read. Thanks for the great post, and I agree with kelly - a wine hangover is not always so fun! :P ... Also, I found you through the Blog hop - be sure to check out mine, too - adayindurham.com

    PS - (I had to go back into this comment and edit it because I realized how many typos I had! Oops. That's what happens when you blog at 2 a.m.)

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  • Sensual, silky and seductive...gotta get me some wine. A new follower.

    Anne Marie
    http://moanasuniquedesigns.blogspot.com/

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  • Hi, Deanna! Thank you for linking up with #FTSF. When you come back next week, please use the sentence prompt for the post you link up. Thanks!
    ~dawn

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  • Andrea Bai @ Glam Hungry MomJanuary 25, 2013 at 3:34 PM

    Pinor Noir is one of my favorite wines! Thank you so much for joining us at the Follow Friend Friday Link Up Party!

    xoxo

    www.glamhungrymom.com

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  • Oh my gosh this is perfect! Loving your blog already. :) Found you through the Harvest hop and following you on Networked blogs and Linky friends as Katie. Stop by when you have a chance!
    Katie from Dysfunction Junction
    http://dusfunctionsjunction.com

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  • I'm a new follower from Blogaholic. :) Can't wait to read more!

    Becca Marie from College Life (http://hercollegeblog.blogspot.com)

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  • love this information! thank you!! I have been cooking with wine lately and trying to pair it with meals...just started learning all of this stuff and am enjoying it....love reading posts like yours with info!!
    I am your newest follower from the hop..pls follow back if you can.
    hmmm...pork and apples tonight...does pinot noir work?!

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    1. Pinot Noir works perfect with any pork dish, thanks for stopping by

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  • LuAnn @ BackPorchervationsJanuary 27, 2013 at 3:52 PM

    New follower from Let's Get Social Sunday blog hop. Had issue with some of the little "follow me" buttons (just above GFC widget) leading back to the blog, but my computer's been iffy today anyway, so might be an issue on my end.

    I don't know a whole lot about wines, so I am looking forward to a new facet of my education!

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  • Kathy Shea Mormino, The Chicken ChickJanuary 28, 2013 at 4:16 PM

    Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week; I hope you’ll join us again!


    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino

    The Chicken Chick

    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  • Hello found your blog on BSN and saw you are needing some followers.
    Your blog looks great so I followed. Hope you can visit Sunny days are love and follow me back there :))))

    Thanks
    Chi
    http://sunnydaysarelove.blogspot.com

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  • Hi Deanna! Thank you for the follow on This Southern Girl's Life via Blogaholic. I'm following you.

    I love red wines. I miss living in Lake County, CA. We had so many wineries and we were right next door to Napa and Sonoma counties. I moved back to Arkansas to be closer to family and I live in a dry county. You can't buy alcohol in my county. So to enjoy my wine I have to drive about 35 minutes away. At least that keeps me from imbibing too much.

    Have a great week!
    Natosha

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  • Deanna,

    I love me a good red wine! Pinot Noir is my favorite and Merlot is not too far behind. Stopping by from Aloha Friday and I am now your newest follower! I love your blog and can't wait to read your next posts!

    xx
    Serena
    The Serena Saga

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