Styles Driven by Appellation by Steve Pitcher Burgundy is the ancestral home of Pinot Noir, and the French have had hundreds of years to learn their soils and fine-tune their vineyards to produce some of the most exquisite examples of this voluptuous wine imaginable. Unfortunately, Burgundy is at the mercy of fickle weather, and a spectacular harvest in the making can be turned into a disaster more times than the French like to remember by too much rain arriving at the wrong time. Yet, California wineries are still sorting out a multitude of variables to produce great Pinot Noir.
Clones are the hot items nowadays.
For example, both the Pommard and Dijon clones from Burgundy have been grown in Oregon for years with varying degrees of success. Several dozen pinot noir clones have been identified in the Cote d'Or alone, and there are several hundred among all the regions where the grape is grown. The characteristics of most of these clones are now pretty well known. Fortunately, California growers and vintners are quick learners and not at all unwilling to experiment. From the rudimentary efforts of the 1970s and early 1980s, when Pinot Noir was made pretty much like any other red wine, to the stunning, distinctive success stories of the late 1990s, it appears that the learning process has been greatly accelerated.