Pinot Noir

RedVinifera red

Burgundy

Red cherry, forest floor and fine tannin. Thin-skinned, pale and unforgiving of heavy handling.

At harvest

Each bar drawn against the full range of all 54 varieties

Sugar

22-25 Brix

22 - 25

Titratable acidity

6-8 g/L

6 - 8

3.3-3.6

3.3 - 3.6

Juice yield

0.68 L/kg

free run plus a gentle press

Sugar per kilogram

176 g

at 23.5 Brix, the midpoint

Fruit for 23 litres

34 kg

before racking losses

Potential alcohol

12.9-14.1%

from 1.099 fermented dry. A range, because conversion varies by strain

What it punishes

Over-extraction. Long, hot maceration strips it of the delicacy that is the entire point.

Made into

Dry red
Sparkling base
Rose

Sulphite at this pH

At pH 3.45, protecting a red wine to 0.5 mg/L molecular SO2 takes 22 mg/L of free SO2. Work it out for your own reading.

Recipes on this site that use it

Light dry red

Pinot Noir

34 kg · 22.0 Brix · 12.8%

Picked off the midpoint on purpose

More vinifera red

23-26 Brix

Cabernet Sauvignon

Bordeaux, and now everywhere warm enough

23-25 Brix

Merlot

Right Bank Bordeaux

22-25 Brix

Cabernet Franc

Loire and Bordeaux

23-26 Brix

Syrah

Northern Rhone

24-27 Brix

Grenache

Southern Rhone and Spain

24-26 Brix

Mourvedre

Bandol and Spain

24-28 Brix

Zinfandel

California, and Croatia before that

23-25 Brix

Sangiovese

Tuscany