From hip-hop beefs to sporting showdowns, the East Coast-West Coast rivalry has been shaping American culture for decades. Debates over Biggie vs. Tupac, Broadway vs. Hollywood, and the New York Yankees vs. the LA Dodgers could rage on for eternity.
In recent years, another intriguing battleground has emerged, as Pinot Noir has been dragged into the culture clash. As is the case in music, food, fashion, and sport, winemakers on the East Coast and West Coast are doing it their own way.
International Pinot Noir Day takes place on August 18, which gives us the perfect opportunity to explore the differences between West Coast and East Coast Pinot Noir. We’ve highlighted the main regions for North American Pinot Noir, focusing on the climate, the typical flavours and aromas, and the latest winemaking trends.
Our Level 3 Award in Wines covers the key factors in the production of wine, including how the region and winemaking decisions impact the final product.
Key regions for Pinot Noir in North America
Pinot Noir is a delicate grape that only thrives in certain regions. In North America, they’re clustered on the coasts, notably in California, Oregon, British Colombia, New York and Ontario. These are the top regions for North American Pinot Noir.
Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
Oregon’s Willamette Valley is renowned for producing world-class Pinot Noir. This rugged region is cooler and wetter than most Californian AVAs, and the wines are stylistically similar to Burgundy. Some prominent Burgundian producers have expanded into the Willamette Valley, attracted by the cool climate, diverse soils and long growing season. Pinot Noir from the region is often age-worthy, with high levels of acidity and flavours of red cherry, cranberry, mushroom, forest floor and spice.
Sonoma County, California, USA
Sonoma County is one of the world’s top regions for Pinot Noir. In particular, Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast are the key areas, known for producing wines with ripe fruit, soft tannins and silky texture. Los Carneros, which straddles the border between Sonoma County and Napa County, is also ideal for growing Pinot Noir. Styles vary widely in this region, depending on the vineyard site and winemaking practices.
Santa Barbara County, California, USA
This cool, ocean-influenced region delivers powerful, balanced Pinot. Winemakers in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA are increasingly focusing on precision and freshness, which has boosted Santa Barbara County’s reputation.
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
The Okanagan Valley is forging a reputation for producing fresh, well-balanced Pinot Noir with surprising levels of intensity and complexity. This region is characterised by hot, dry summers, cold winters and long, frost-free springs. The wines often display a bright, crisp acidity, with floral notes, red berries and spice.
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada
On the other side of Canada, trailblazing winemakers in Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula produce polished Pinot Noir with vibrant acidity and refined tannins. Frost risk and humid summers lead to greater vintage variation than West Coast regions, but good vintages can be similar to Burgundy. You’ll often find light, elegant Pinot, which offers cherry and raspberry, with earthy undertones.
Finger Lakes, New York, USA
This region is defined by a shorter growing season than other parts of North America, with cool summers and some harsh winters. These wines are often light in body, with moderate alcohol. Once again, vintage variation is significant. Cold years can produce thin, insipid wines, but the best years result in Pinot of stunning elegance.
Other Regions
Elsewhere in California, you can find high-quality Pinot in regions like Anderson Valley, Santa Maria Valley, Napa County, Monterey and the Santa Cruz Mountains. Meanwhile, some boutique producers in Washington State’s Puget Sound are making interesting Pinot Noir in cool, wet conditions. Cooler areas in southern Oregon produce successful Pinot too.
Long Island in New York yields some intriguing Pinot. High-altitude vineyards in Colorado also produce surprisingly fresh Pinot, although production is tiny right now.
Climate for Pinot Noir
Sideways, the 2004 comedy starring Paul Giamatti as struggling writer Miles Raymond, is best known for the protagonist’s epic rant about Merlot. “I am not drinking any ****ing Merlot,” he raged.
Miles’ meltdown sparked a decline in Merlot sales across North America, but his homage to Pinot deserves equal billing: “It’s a hard grape to grow. It’s thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early… It’s not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and thrive even when it’s neglected… Pinot needs constant care and attention… It can only grow in these really specific, little tucked-away corners of the world, and only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it.”
As he explains, Pinot Noir is a fussy grape, which only flourishes in very specific conditions. It’s highly sensitive to heat and frost, so Pinot requires cool climates, which tend to be clustered near large bodies of water in North America.
West Coast
Producers benefit from a strong Pacific Ocean influence, leading to cool nights and fog in key regions. This moderates temperatures, preserving the acidity and delicacy of the wines. These regions typically feature cool climates, while soils can range from alluvial to volcanic.
East Coast
The climate is cool in key regions, but there’s more humidity and rainfall than the West Coast, leading to greater vintage variation. The best vineyards are located near the Finger Lakes or Lake Ontario, which reduces frost risk and extends ripening. The East Coast tends to produce more delicate wines than the West Coast, and careful vineyard management is essential due to frost risk.
Key Differences
If you’re wondering how climate affects Pinot Noir flavour, these are some of the key differences between East Coast and West Coast Pinot Noir:
- Fruit ripeness: The West Coast tends to produce richer, riper fruit. That’s especially true of California Pinot Noir. By contrast, East Coast cool climate Pinot Noir often has a leaner, tarter red fruit profile.
- Acidity: East Coast wines, such as New York Pinot Noir, tend to have higher acidity due to the cooler average temperatures.
- Alcohol levels: West Coast Pinot Noir is often higher in alcohol, especially in California, whereas Niagara and New York Pinot Noir is more moderate.
- Vintage variation: The East Coast sees more vintage variation, due to weather extremes, whereas California Pinot Noir tends to be slightly more predictable.
- Pinot Noir characteristics: New York and Niagara Pinot Noir can be leaner and earthier, with greater minerality. West Coast Pinot Noir tends to be plusher and more fruit forward, especially in California.
Winemaking Techniques
Pinot Noir is an early budding, early ripening grape variety, which has thin skins and grows in tight clusters. That makes it susceptible to rot and disease in humid regions, and sunburn in hotter climates, while spring frost is also a risk.
Here are some of the vineyard management and winemaking techniques that Pinot producers adopt to overcome the various challenges and showcase the grape’s remarkable elegance:
- Hand harvesting to accommodate Pinot Noir’s delicate skins.
- Minimal crushing and pumping to avoid extracting harsh tannins.
- Fermenting with whole clusters to add complexity and spice.
- Ageing premium wines in oak for 12 to 24 months.
- Only using a small proportion of new oak to avoid overpowering Pinot Noir’s delicate flavours.
- Blending different vineyard plots to increase complexity or improve consistency.
- Leaving the best wines to develop in the bottle for many years, gaining tertiary flavours of forest floor and mushroom.
Flavours and aromas
Flavours and Aromas
The flavours and aromas can vary significantly according to the vineyard site and winemaking techniques, but these are some typical tasting notes for North American Pinot Noir wines:
- Red fruits: Cherry, strawberry, raspberry, cranberry.
- Floral and herbal notes: Violet, rose, tea leaf.
- Earthy notes: Mushroom, forest floor.
- Spice: Clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking spices from the oak.
- Texture: Typically light to medium body, with silky tannins and bright acidity.
You can use the WSET’s Systematic Approach to Tasting when evaluating North American Pinot Noir. Consider the clarity, intensity and colour of the wine, and then assess the aroma characteristics. When tasting the wine, focus on sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, body, flavour intensity, characteristics and the length of the finish.
Pinot Noir trends
North American Pinot Noir producers are increasingly pursuing leaner, fresher and more restrained wines. This has driven an increased focus on cool climate regions like the Finger Lakes, Santa Barbara and Anderson Valley.
Organic and biodynamic viticulture is growing on the West Coast, driven by Oregon and California. Some winemakers are experimenting with minimal sulphur or amphora aging. Producers increasingly bottle single-vineyard Pinot Noir too, which allows you to taste several wines side-by-side and explore terroir differences.
West Coast vs. East Coast Pinot
West Coast Pinot Noir evokes cruising down Sunset Boulevard in a sports car. It’s sun-kissed, plush and opulent. Expect juicy cherry and raspberry, with a hint of spice. Oregon may well be the cool, intellectual cousin of California – earthier and subtler – but it’s still West Coast, delivering confident, polished wines that never struggle for ripeness.
East Coast Pinot is more Brooklyn speakeasy than bustling Hollywood rooftop bar. It’s chic, refined and understated. Expect flavours of cranberry, pomegranate, earthy forest floor and a mineral edge. This is the Pinot you drink with oysters in Manhattan or at a farm-to-table bistro in Toronto, while complaining about subway delays or debating philosophy.
Just like music, fashion, entertainment and sport, there’s no clear winner – just two very different styles, and International Pinot Noir Day gives you a perfect opportunity to try them both.
