Pinot Noir: taste, styles and the dishes that match
54 styles and 556 dish scores from our sommelier database
From easy weekday bottle to cellar-worthy wine: Pinot Noir has many faces. We unpack the taste profile with Wine DNA axes and show the dishes where this red grape demonstrably scores — starting with Lamb stew.
Taste profile (Wine DNA)
Averaged across the styles in our database, Pinot Noir shows pronounced freshness, is medium-bodied and exuberantly fruity, with barely any tannin.
Well-known Pinot Noir styles
- Bourgogne Rouge · Burgundy — medium-bodied, pronounced freshness, soft tannins
Elegant, supple red Burgundy with hallmark Pinot Noir red berry and cherry fruit and fresh acidity. - Gevrey-Chambertin & Nuits-Saint-Georges · Burgundy — medium-bodied, fresh acidity, soft tannins, subtle oak notes
Characterful Côte de Nuits Pinot Noir combining elegance with savoury depth and ageing potential. - Pinot Noir California · California — medium-bodied, fresh acidity, soft tannins, subtle oak notes
Ripe, generously fruited California Pinot Noir with silky tannins and subtle oak ageing. - Pinot Noir · Central Europe — medium-bodied, pronounced freshness, firm tannins, generous oak ageing
Een vrij lichte wijn van de gelijknamige druif met duidelijke rood-fruittonen en proefbare houtopvoeding. - Pinot Noir · New Zealand — full-bodied, fresh acidity, soft tannins, generous oak ageing
Bijna explosief roodfruitige pinot noir uit Nieuw-Zeeland, fors in alcohol (14%) met flink body, veel fruit en heel zachte tannines. - Pinot Noir d'Alsace · Alsace — medium-bodied, pronounced freshness, soft tannins, subtle oak notes
Light bodied, often slightly green red wine from Alsace from the grape variety by the same name. - Pinot Noir Yonne & Loire · France — light-bodied, fresh acidity, soft tannins
Yonne, Loire, Bouzy, Côteaux Champenois en Meuse. - Pinot Noir Central · Central Italy — medium-bodied, pronounced freshness, soft tannins, subtle oak notes
Ripe and red fruity red wines from central Italy from the grape variety by the same name, with Tuscany producing quality with serious pretense, often lavishly oak aged.
Price-wise Pinot Noir covers the full range: of the 54 styles in our database, 30% sit in the entry segment, 50% mid-range and 20% at the top end. You will find both a weekday bottle and a cellar-worthy wine in this grape.
The best-scoring dishes with Pinot Noir
The dishes below come from our expert scoring: every combination was scored by sommeliers using the Wine DNA of both dish and wine. These are the strongest matches for Pinot Noir styles, from classic to surprising.
- Lamb stew — best style: Pinot Noir New World
- Babi ketjap — best style: Pinot Noir New Zealand
- Duck à l'orange — best style: Pinot Noir New World
- Duck breast — best style: Pinot Noir New World
- Christmas dinner — best style: Pinot Noir New Zealand
- Suckling pig — best style: Pinot Noir New Zealand
- Goose — best style: Pinot Noir New World
- Pheasant — best style: Pinot Noir New Zealand
- Bulgogi — best style: Pinot Noir New World
- Flammkuchen — best style: Pinot Noir Yonne & Loire
- Roast pork — best style: Pinot Noir New World
- Pork belly — best style: Pinot Noir Central Europe
Want to know if a specific bottle of Pinot Noir matches your dish? Scan the label in the SommelierX app and see the match instantly.
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Frequently asked questions
- What does Pinot Noir taste like?
- Averaged across the styles in our database, Pinot Noir shows pronounced freshness, is medium-bodied and exuberantly fruity, with barely any tannin. It varies by style: see the overview above.
- What food goes with Pinot Noir?
- The highest scores in our sommelier work: Lamb stew, Oyster creuse, Melon, Champagne sabayon. The full list is above.
- Is Pinot Noir a red wine?
- In our database Pinot Noir is mostly made as a red wine (54 linked styles); regional exceptions exist.