One is often lighter in coloration, the opposite a bit darker in hue. One tends to be suave and tender in mouthfeel, the opposite extra agency and structured. One is taken into account the “heartbreak grape” for a way troublesome it may be to develop, whereas the opposite has relative success in landscapes all throughout the globe.
However there’s one factor that Pinot Noir—that’s the sunshine, clean, hard-to-grow one—and Cabernet Sauvignon—the hardier varietal—have in widespread: They’re core characters in an age-old debate between wine aficionados of which pink wine is the world’s greatest.
Distinct Origins and Disparate Evolutions
Earlier than we delve into these arguments, let’s cowl the backstories of those legendary grapes.
Pinot Noir is believed to harken again to not less than the first century, when a scribe from Spain described vines from the Burgundy area of France with particulars that ring true immediately. The identify “Pinot,” nevertheless, wouldn’t present up till the 14th century, when it was deemed Burgundy’s greatest grape.
Cabernet Sauvignon, by comparability, is however a child. The grape is the results of a hybrid between the pink Cabernet Franc and the white Sauvignon Blanc that occurred most definitely accidentally within the Bordeaux area of France in the course of the seventeenth century.
Although later to the sport, Cab shortly fell into vogue, changing into a core participant in lots of Bordelaise blends. By the mid-1800s, the grape—which generally expresses darkish berry fruit alongside extra savory, natural earth tones—was already discovering footholds in rising wine nations elsewhere, from Australia to California’s Napa Valley, the place it turned the darling of America’s post-Prohibition wine scene.
Pinot Noir, in the meantime, didn’t acquire velocity within the New World till the Nineteen Eighties. However the selection’s hallmark traits of zesty acidity, contemporary pink fruit and sharp spice didn’t explode past Burgundy connoisseurs till it was romanticized within the 2004 Oscar-winning of us Sideways.
Since then, Pinot Noir greater than doubled in acreage in California alone, and is now the state’s second most generally planted pink grape at about 45,000 acres. However Cab nonetheless dominates, with almost 100,000 acres within the floor.
Reliability Versus Novelty
“Cabernet has depth, but in addition captures numerous nuances and finesse too,” argues Simon Faury, the French-born, Napa-trained winemaker of Crown Level Winerys in Santa Barbara County. “It’s like a rugby participant. It may be sturdy, however it could additionally flip shortly and be mild on its ft.”
He’s made Sonoma Coast Pinot as effectively—“no one’s good!” he quips—and finds Cab to be a extra dependable selection. “Pinot is a really delicate grape, a sophisticated and tortured varietal, like that neurotic buddy that you just solely need to catch on an excellent day,” he laughs. “Cab is your greatest buddy. It’s gonna hold with you, it’s gonna be optimistic. On the finish of the day, you may at all times depend on Cab.”
Shalini Sekhar, who consults on Pinot Noir for boutique manufacturers like Neely and Xander Soren, agrees with the sensitivity half. “It’s an unforgiving grape,” she says. “There’s a sick a part of me that likes micromanaging and worrying. Pinot is worry-all-the-time.”
That malleability could also be its greatest asset. “Pinot exhibits extra sense of place than just about another grape,” says Aaron Walker, winemaker at Pali Wine Co., which has sourced Pinot Noir from all around the West Coast. “That makes it a extra attention-grabbing and extra elusive wine. It’s important to actually work exhausting to discover a Pinot Noir that matches your desire.”
That may be a problem for brand new wine drinkers. “They are often confused by Pinot Noir, whereas Cabernet Sauvignon is extra of a newbie wine,” says Walker, who’s additionally made Cab from many areas in California. “It’s a lot simpler to grasp, a lot simpler to drink. It has so much much less variation. Even inside California, there are numerous similarities with Cab grown in several areas.”
This versatility in fashion and taste additionally imply the thin-skinned grape is very versatile in the case of pairing with meals. “Pinot Noir is essentially the most good pink,” says Sekhar matter-of-factly. “It goes with actually the whole lot. You’ll be able to work with fish. You’ll be able to work with multi-ethnic delicacies. You’ll be able to have a steak.”
Cab lovers will definitely quibble over that final merchandise. For so long as the grape has reigned atop the pink wine recreation within the New World, it’s been paired with juicy chunks of beef, whether or not that’s prime rib, grilled sirloin or a fats hamburger.
So, Which One Wins?
Meals pairings apart, every varietal has its personal deserves and far of the controversy comes down to private desire.
For Walker, the true proof lies in how every selection is used traditionally. “Cabernet Sauvignon is usually blended, particularly in Bordeaux. It’s not a standalone grape,” he says. “Pinot Noir is nearly by no means blended. So, if Cab wants assist by mixing, you may say that it’s not so good as Pinot Noir, which stands alone on a regular basis.”
The 2 grapes are so deeply ingrained within the lifetime of Diana Snowden Seysses that she finds it troublesome to have a lot perspective. “It’s virtually a Proustian cookie, my madeleine,” says Seysses, who makes Pinot Noir because the winemaker for Domaine Dujac in Burgundy but in addition makes Napa Cab for her household’s Snowden Vineyards and Santa Cruz Mountains Cab for Ashes & Diamonds.
“Pinot Noir is extra hedonistic, very sensual, with very advantageous tannins, it’s simple to get misplaced in,” says Seysses. “Cabernet is extra mental, far more structural. There’s a special form of pleasure. It’s extra of a whips and chains form of pleasure.”
Outdated World Cabs have a tendency to indicate a bit extra minerality and construction than their New World counterparts. However nowadays, Seysses says that kinds in all areas, together with Bordeaux, run the gamut from tremendous wealthy and ripe to extremely lean and savory. “You could find examples of each in both place and the whole lot in between,” she says.
That’s not the case for Pinot Noir, which produces a a lot completely different wine in its ancestral homeland in comparison with the remainder of the world. “There are only a few examples of limestone outdoors of Burgundy,” says Seysses. “I wish to suppose I might by no means confuse them.”
Like the whole lot in wine, the victor on this smackdown will depend upon every imbiber’s private desire.
In the event you’re looking for to start out on, maybe, a by no means ending journey of exploration which will wind up in tragedy as a result of you may not afford benchmark Burgundy, Pinot Noir is the best name. In the event you’re on the lookout for a extra stable-footed, predictable pour, go for that Cab.
Or, you may at all times simply say, “sure” to each.
Extra Varietal Protection
From the Store
Discover Your Wine a House
Our collection of pink wine glasses is one of the best ways to benefit from the wine’s refined aromas and vivid flavors.
Printed: August 23, 2024
