Pining for Pinot

"It's thin-skinned, temperamental and ripens early," says Miles played by actor Paul Giamatti, "and it's not a survivor like cabernet (sauvignon) that can grow anywhere and thrive even when neglected."

Miles goes on to say, "It needs constant care and attention and in fact can only grow in specific, little, tucked-away corners of the world. And only the most patient and nurturing growers can do it and really tap into pinot's most fragile, delicate qualities."

In fact, pinot embodies all of the above and more. While it's often about mouthfeel, and that rich, silky, fruity earthy barnyard fruit that spills across your mouth sideways, so to speak, it's also about life. A thin-skinned grape exposed to the elements, day in and day out, requires a conspiracy of circumstance to become perfect. That's pinot noir and it's what attracts most of us to it.

Burgundy remains the eternal home of pinot and its famed Cote d'Or landscape and its original patchwork of climates (single vineyards) reflect all the subtle facets of its terroir. After that you can turn to an ever-growing number of regions such as Central Otago, Martinborough, Canterbury, Nelson and Marlborough in New Zealand; Russian River, Carneros, Monterey, and Santa Barbara County in California, Leyda, Casablanca, and Marchigue in Chile. Throw in Oregon's Willamette and Rogue Valleys, Tasmania and Yarra Valley in Australia, parts of coastal South Africa, British Columbia and Ontario and well you get the picture that the game is on.

Pinot's move to prime time is heightened by its affinity for food. In his well-researched book North American Pinot, John Winthrop Haeger says, "Pinot's modest tannins give it greater flexibility in food pairings than high-tannin varieties that often call out for the moderating influence of animal fat."

Given its very real flexibility, Haeger suggests pairing it with a salt cod brandade laced with cream and new potatoes; Ahi tuna kissed with soya and wasabi; braised duck with figs and olives; pepper and fennel covered salmon; or risotto with radicchio dried and fresh porcini. The imagination runs wild, but the trick is finding pinot noir you can afford to drink.

Today we look at six pinot listings selling in B.C. Liquor stores and private wine and select private wine shops around the province.

A recent newcomer is the Mirassou California Pinot Noir 2006. Expectations can be low at this price point because good pinot is never cheap, but its open, warm compost notes mixed with strawberry/cherry, licorice notes and supple palate are easy to like. More cherry, smoky, strawberry jam, compost and rhubarb flavours seal the deal. It is an attractive introductory-style pinot with some finesse. Solid value.

If you've been hunting down the great 2005 Burgundy vintage, you may want to consider a simple rendition in the Moillard Chorey-les-Beaune 2005. The style is polar opposite to the Mirassou with its floral, earthy, strawberry, tobacco leaf and rooty aromas and dry, if slightly tight earthy, tobacco leaf, cedar, compost and sour cherry flavours. This needs another year or two to settle down, or consider serving now with duck confit, or a mushroom risotto.

Different again is the Tohu Pinot Noir 2006. The juicy Marlborough red comes with a slightly reduced nose with carrot top, tea leaf, raspberry and orange peel aromas. The entry is dry and elegant with tobacco leaf, sour cherry, raspberry, carrot top flavours and a smoky, lean, vanilla and orange peel finish all in a fresh, dry New World style.

Two affordable Oregon efforts are lead by the Benton Lane Pinot Noir 2006 -- available in private wine shops. The nose is a mix of thyme and spicy, rooty, floral notes with smoky, rhubarb and cherry aromas. The texture are suitably soft and round with herbal, earthy, tobacco leaf, cooked rhubarb, floral, cherry flavours. An earthier style with finesse and a steeped tea finish.

Another Oregon pick is King Estate Pinot Noir Signature Selection 2006 from the Willamette Valley. Decidedly spicier, it has a coriander, carrot top, licorice, coffee, vanilla, raspberry jam nose with a dusting of compost. Light tannins with decent acidity preview a palate of cedar, coffee, carrot, orange, raspberry, compost and mineral flavours. A big solid fruit core will no doubt allow it to improve over the next few years.

Belle Glos Pinot Noir Meiomi Vineyard 2006 comes from the Sonoma Coast AVA in California. Mieomi means coast in native Wappo and its use at Belle Glos is to signify the cool coastal source of the fruit. I like this effort with its black cherry and spicy celery salt and beetroot aromas and flavours. The palate is soft and supple with earthy black fruits notes in the finish. Best now and over the next year or so. Serve with salmon.

Price: $15.99

UPC: 085000012277

Score: 86/100

Remarks: Attractive consumer style with some finesse. Solid value here.

MOILLARD CHOREY-LES-BEAUNE 2005, SAVIGNY-LES-BEAUNE, BURGUNDY, FRANCE

Price: $28.99

UPC: 3180421050529

Score: 86/100

Remarks: Earthy, tobacco leaf, compost, sour cherry flavours.

TOHU PINOT NOIR 2006, MARLBOROUGH, SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND

Price: $33

UPC: 09421003130043

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Raspberry, carrot top, rooty, smoky, light vanilla and orange peel flavours.

BENTON LANE PINOT NOIR 2006, OREGON

Price: $35, at private wine shops

UPC: 780383069626

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Round, silky texture with a rooty, herbal, earthy cherry flavours.

KING ESTATE PINOT NOIR SIGNATURE SELECTION 2006, WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OREGON

Price: $37.95

UPC: 00768675960226

Score: 89/100

Remarks: Round, dry, elegant style with carrot, orange, raspberry, compost flavours.

BELLE GLOS PINOT NOIR MEIOMI VINEYARD 2006, SONOMA COAST, SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Price: $40

UPC: 00855622000231

Score: 89/100

Remarks: The palate is soft and supple with earthy, black fruit notes in the finish.