Pinot Noir
If you enjoy Pinot Noirs from the Willamette Valley in Oregon or California’s Sonoma County, you should seek out Pinot Noir from New Zealand. In fact, there is a huge cultural exchange within these regions. Because of the alternating seasons, it is very common to hear of winery interns traveling across the Pacific to work two harvests a year. This extends to some of the best in the business—Ted Lemon of Sonoma’s famed Littorai also makes wine at Burn Cottage in Central Otago, for example.
Styles vary across the country, so it’s a bit hard to make generalizations, but most NZ producers try to embrace the balance that their climate affords them. New Zealand pinots don’t have the weight of warmer climates, but they don’t quite have the earthy mushroom notes of Burgundy either. Most NZ Pinots have a splash of black cherry or strawberry flavor, complemented with violet and cloves.
