Romania, perfecting Pinot Noir

At Weavers, we are all about exploring and supporting lesser known wine-producing regions and unearthing the viticultural gems that they may be hiding. One such nation that we have found to be particularly bountiful in this regard is Romania, whose superb terroir and modern outlook have enabled them to cultivate even the fussiest grape varieties, whilst offering excellent value for money.

One of those grape varieties comes in the form of Pinot Noir which, despite being responsible for many of the world’s finest and most expensive wines, is notoriously difficult to cultivate for a number of reasons.

The Pinot Noir grape itself is very small with thin skin. This can be an advantage, as it gives the wine its light body and colour, but also means that if the utmost care is not taken, the wine can be a bit thin and insipid. The fine skins of the Pinot Noir grape also make them highly vulnerable to frost and hail with both being known to regularly destroy entire harvests. This is especially problematic as Pinot Noir requires a long, slow ripening period at the cool temperatures at which hail and frost often occur. The grapes are also tightly bunched together on the vine, so the spread of fungal disease is also of massive concern to viticulturists. Especially in damper years.

All of these factors tend to combine to mean that it’s extremely difficult to find a decent Pinot Noir for under a tenner, so I hope that you will agree that the Lautarul Pinot Noir from Romania represents incredible value.