Pinot Noir - A Difficult Problem Child Comes Good.

Lets face it - Pinot Noir is a difficult, problem grape!!!

It's hard to get a consistent, great Pinot Noir. To grow great Pinot Noir, you must overcome a multitude of problems, starting with the plant - as Pinot Noir is genetically unstable. A parent plant can produce an offspring with wildly different berry size and shape and even flavour.  Pinot Noir is also a bit like that sickly child: it seems to pick up every known vine disease, mould, fungus and pest. And it's an early ripening variety so spring frosts are hazardous.When picked too late the thin-skinned berries will shrivel up and lose all flavour. The grape's tendency to produce tightly packed clusters makes it susceptible to several viticultural hazards involving rot that require diligent canopy management. The thin-skins and low levels of phenolic compounds lends Pinot to producing mostly lightly colored, medium bodied low tannin wines that can often go through dumb phases with uneven and unpredictable aging.

So why even bother?