Sunday, September 14, 2008

The Pinot Noir debate rages on

I seem to have started something with my Pinot Noir comments.

A friend of mine whose opinion on the subject of wine I value a great deal sent me this comment.

Heat is measured by accumulated heat units summed over the time from April to October. ‘cool’ is generally less than 1500 Degree days. Warm is above 1500. Hot is generally above 2000. Kelowna is good for Pinot Noir because its degree days are about similar to that of Burgundy (around 1200-1300). Hot summer days are acceptable as long as the total heat accumulated is in check. This is why our 07 Pinot is so good in comparison to our other vintages: we had around 1350 degree days vs our usual 1500+.

OK. So there you have the technical answer. So, I guess you need to start looking for local 2007 Pinot Noirs. As you now know that it was a good season for that grape. But in my defense, if the usual for the area is over 1500, then my orginal statements aren't too far wrong if you consider that the mecca of Pinot Noir is the Burgundy region of France.

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