Pinot Noir
A variety that bears the title of the most promising and at the same time the most demanding for the production of quality wines. The skins are very thin, Pinot is generally very susceptible to disease and, compared to some of its competitors, produces very fine wines with more acidity. However, when the winemaker does his job well, the wine can also age for a very long time in the bottle. In planting, the Americans are doing very well, second only to France by a few thousand acres. The most popular areas at the moment are the Russian River Valley in Sonoma, Sta. Rita Hills near Santa Barbara, and all of Oregon. An interesting fact is that the yield of Pinot Noir per vineyard is three times less than Cabernet, for example.
