5 facts you didn't know about Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir comes from two French words meaning ‘pine’ and ‘black’. This alludes to the tightly clustered pinecone-shaped bunches the grapes grow in, and the colour of the grape variety. 

Although red wine is typically paired with fatty foods or red meat, Pinot Noir actually goes really nicely with lighter meals like salmon or chicken. Equally, it still pairs just as well with richer meats, including duck and ultimately complements a cheesy pizza perfectly- our favourite!

Find out more about what foods to pair with other wines here

The Pinot Noir grape is actually used in the production of rosé and some sparkling white wines- despite it being a dark grape! Additionally, it is also one of the only red grape varieties allowed to be used in the production of the world famous Champagne (the other red grape being Pinot Meunier).

Pinot Noir is known as the ‘heartbreak’ grape. This is because in the vineyards, it is said to break the hearts of many growers due to its thin skin, which makes it very hard to cultivate and liable to damage. The grape also requires high standards of care in order to ripen correctly and thus the wine makers put their heart and soul into these grapes for them only to get destroyed.