Pinot noir, one of the most difficult wines to make well, seems to be the new darling among many wine consumers, most of whom know little of the drama behind this little rascal of a grape.
Persnickety and easily prone to fits of pique, pinot noir is hard to grow, hard to make into fine wine, ages erratically in the bottle, can change from ugly colt to stalwart stallion without warning (and vice versa!), and at its best is exalted as one of the greatest of all wines.
The king of the hill is red Burgundy, famed for its greatness when it is great. But not every bottle of Burgundy is great, and therein lies the New World quest to make one that is.
Updated: Sun Mar 20, 2016