One aspect of the Pinot Noir Programme is taking a reductionist approach to conduct research on individual berries and is set to make scientific history.

With funding of $10.3 million, the five-year Pinot Noir research programme is already breaking ground in terms of knowledge of this fickle grape and capricious wine.

Twenty years on from the very first New Zealand Pinot Noir Celebration the event that has been labelled as the Best Pinot Party in the World, is set to celebrate a milestone.

What makes a high quality Pinot Noir? What chemistry drives it? How can we replicate this at a commercially viable cost? 

Pinot Noir is second only to Sauvignon Blanc in terms of New Zealand wine production. Nonetheless, the variety remains a “minx of a vine” to grow and manage.

You hear the words ‘road trip’ and think Thelma and Louise, but a little more planning was required for the 600 people who took three trips around New Zealand’s six Pinot Noir regions earlier this year.

As chair of the third day’s session, Emma Jenkins MW explained, evolution cannot happen unless you have already embraced and explored.

Allen Meadows is a self-confessed, “obsessive” Burgundy lover.

Great, according to my dictionary, means; “much higher than average in amount, extent or intensity”, or “much higher than average in ability, quality or importance.”

For far too many years, New Zealand Pinot Noir producers have spent time comparing their wines to those of Burgundy.