Send in the clones: Learning more about Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is a Vitis vinifera grape just like its cousins, Pinot Gris or Grigio, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Meunier. The name "pinot" translated is French for pine because of the tightly packed, pine cone-shaped clusters.

The next descriptor is all about the skin color — black, gray or white. In the case of Pinot Meunier, it translates to miller because the underside of the leaf is white as if dusted with flour.

Pinot Noir prefers cooler climates, such as Champagne and Burgundy where it originated. California has pockets of coolness — Carneros, Russian River, Santa Barbara, Santa Lucia, Santa Maria, Santa Rita and Sonoma Coast AVAs, all producing spectacular Pinot Noirs.

In 1965, Pioneer David Lett, a recent graduate of UC Davis, migrated to Oregon with Pinot Noir vines and founded Eyrie Vineyards. When the Burgundians moved to Oregon, they did so because it had an ideal environment for their special clones of Pommard and Dijon.

Making wine from Pinot Noir is no cakewalk. To begin with, the tightly packed clusters and thin skins makes it susceptible to rot, so careful canopy management is a must. Pinot Noir also is missing some phenolic compounds, which means it is often lightly colored with minimal tannins.

And to top that off, the finicky Pinot Noir often mutates. America’s most important winemaker, André Tchelistcheff, once said, “God made Cabernet Sauvignon, whereas the devil made Pinot Noir.”

Our changing climate affects vineyards and, ultimately, the wine in your glass. As the world gets warmer, grape growers have been adjusting to the change with vine spacing, canopy cover and clonal selections. Grape vines are being cloned to withstand the heat of climate change, resist diseases or to weather a drought.

In horticultural terms, a clone is the progeny of a single plant. All of the plants that are produced from one plant have a common origin or parent, propagated by methods other than by seed.

Cloning involves separating a portion of the parent plant to produce an independent plant. It can be done with most any plant. A potato would be an excellent example of cloning, cut out the eye, pop it into the ground and in a few months you’ll have six to 10 more potatoes from the same parent.

Unlike clones, a hybrid is the offspring of two plants of different varieties. The noblest example would be Cabernet Sauvignon, whose parents are Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc.

Cloning is basically field selection. Grape growers select and propagate their finest vines best suited for a particular vineyard and the wineries they sell to. Cloning is done to improve the plant by choosing vines with specific traits the grower needs or for the changing climatic conditions. Traits to keep might be disease resistance, heat tolerance, size or quality.

To clone, vineyard managers take cuttings from a top-quality vine and graft it onto rootstock. Rootstock can also be cloned to get the most desirable qualities.

Cloning was a necessity in the late 1800s to save European vineyards from complete and utter destruction from Phylloxera, an insect that destroys vine roots. Cloning vines onto Vitus labrusca (American slip-skin grape) rootstock saved the European wine industry. The bug doesn’t destroy the Vitis labrusca rootstock.

Clonal selection ensures commercially viable yields for finicky varieties like Pinot Noir. In the 1940s, when the official French clonal selection began, the climate was cooler. Growers needed to ensure their grapes would ripen before the rains came, so vines with higher sugars or early ripening qualities were selected.

Today’s warmer climate demands very different traits. There are over 1,000 clones of Pinot Noir to choose from but only about 2% that are commercially viable.

Famous varieties that have been cloned many times are the Pommard and Dijon from Burgundy, France, prized for their perfume, elegance and well-defined tannins. The Wädenswil clone from Switzerland offers larger clusters and refreshing acidity.

The impetus for the above report was a virtual wine seminar I attended a few weeks ago. Billed as Attack of the Clones, a Pinot Noir Tasting, I immediately signed up. It was organized by the San Francisco Wine School, whose mission is to open up the world of wine to students everywhere and of all levels from sommeliers to curious wine enthusiasts like me.

This seminar not only reminded me of why I love Pinot Noir but provided an education on cloning. The neat part about this seminar was the history of the grape in California, as told by moderator Chris Sawyer, sommelier, educator and journalist (check out his podcasts at The Varietal).

Winemakers Ben Papapietro from Papapietro Perry in the Russian River Valley, Steve Rogstad from Cuvaison in Los Carneros, Carolina Magdalino, enologist for MacRostie and Ken Bernard from Ancien talked about which clones they used and why. Listening to winemakers expound about the way they make their wines helps one to understand what’s in the bottle.

The wines

Papapietro Perry 2019 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is a blend of three vineyards and three clones that are fermented separately for blending purposes. Winemaker Papapietro was an early fan of Russian River’s Rochioli and Williams Selyem Pinot Noirs as am I. Loved this wine.

Domaine Carneros NV Carneros Pinot Noir is a California winery built back in 1987 by the Champagne house of Taittinger. And they know their Pinot Noir, having a history dating back to 1734. I have fond memories of the 2001 Famous Gate Pinot Noir made from the Swan Vineyard clone.

Davis Bynum 2019 is a Russian River Pinot Noir. In 1973, founder Davis Bynum was the first to produce a single-vineyard Pinot Noir from the famed Rochioli Vineyard in the Russian River Valley. Today, their estate vineyards are planted to Pommard, Dijon 667 and Dijon 777.

Cuvaison 2019 Los Carneros Mariafeld Pinot Noir is from the Napa side of Carneros. The shallow clay soils are planted to 57 acres of Pinot Noir. Many Dijon clones are planted along with several heritage clones ⁠— Calera, Swan, Abreu and Mariafeld. The Mariafeld clone was first imported from Wädenswil, Switzerland in 1966.

Ancien 2019 Fiddlestix Vineyard Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir is owner/winemaker Ken Bernards' offering from the famed Fiddlestix Vineyard. Bernards has been producing Pinot Noirs since 1992. Fiddlestix Vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills AVA is one of the most sought-after vineyards. The block used is planted to 23A and Dijon 115.

MacRostie 2018 Manzana Vineyard Pinot Noir is from another esteemed vineyard in the heart of Green Valley. The vineyard is north of the Russian River Valley and farmed by the Dutton Family, who also make fabulous Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Dijon clones 115 and 828 were planted in 2001.

Cheers!

Mary Earl has been educating Kitsap wine lovers for a couple of decades, is a longtime member of the West Sound Brew Club and can pair a beer or wine dinner in a flash. She volunteers for the Clear Creek Trail and a longtime supporter of Silverdale.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Send in the clones: Learning more about Pinot Noir