When Dena Drews, cofounder of the small Amalie Robert winery in Dallas, Oregon looks out over her sloped vineyard 60 miles southwest of Portland, one small portion of it appears silver rather than lush green. What she is looking at is not a crop infection or morning dew; it’s little hairs on the leaves of the vines.
That’s the trademark of the pinot meunier variety. Meunier ( moon- YAY) is French for “miller”, an illusion to the flourlike appearance on the leaves. Never heard of it? Not surprising. It’s red grapes that, most of the world over, are pressed to extract clear juice, then fermented into a small component of sparkling wines, such as champagne. It’s the wine industry’s silver haired stepchild. France grows more of it than anyone.
But about a dozen American wineries say the French have got meunier all wrong. Instead of making white wine out of it, Yankees are fermenting pinot meunier on the skins and making red table wine as they do with merlot, cabernet, and syrah. They’re doing so not to be different but simply because pinot meunier tastes better than most winemakers or wine drinkers realized it could.
Passionate oenophiles are forever on the hunt for the unique and interesting. Meunier is winning over fans who like its bright, fresh flavor of raspberries and cranberries, balanced with tannins. Best drunk after less than a year or two in the bottle, it has a tangy, refreshing finish that begs another sip.
Two California wineries, August Briggs in Calistoga and Bouchaine Vineyards in Napa, report that the varietal is among their fastest sellers.
In the U.S. there are only 200 acres currently planted, enough for perhaps 25,000 cases a year.
Pinot meuniers are common in Germany and Australia.
The handful of American winemakers that produce wine from pinot meunier grapes sell most of their output by mail.
