Pinot Noir got its first 15 minutes of fame in the movie Sideways, when Paul Giamatti’s character Miles waxed rhapsodic about the fussy little grape with the big, complex flavor. Miles was drinking his way through Santa Barbara County, nestled in California’s central coast. In recent years, California has ceded much of its Pinot cred to Oregon’s Willamette Valley, which the local boosters have dubbed “the Promised Land for Pinot Noir in America.” And we agree. Oregon Pinot is fabulous.  But what of other regions?

The latest upstart is New Zealand. Best known for its Sauvignon Blanc, NZ is making headway with luscious Pinot Noir, particularly from the Central Otago region.  And then there’s Washingtonville, New York. What, you haven’t discovered this emerging Pinot region? Well, not exactly a region.  Maybe one winery—Brotherhood, the country’s oldest winery, located in the Hudson River Valley. We’d picked up Brotherhood’s Pinot Noir during a trip to Cohoes (near Albany) and still had the bottle open when we uncorked the Earnscleugh Valley Three Miners.  A perfect opportunity to taste, compare, and contrast.

Brotherhood Pinot Noir 2005    $13  
Brotherhood’s winery is located one hour north of Manhattan, but its Pinot is made from grapes farmed “from the cool slopes of the Finger Lakes.”  A beautiful ruby color, the wine is light and elegantly styled, with vanilla and caramel on the nose and a slight hint of oak. Smooth and soft berry flavors, with a lovely finish. As we wrote in our initial review, a good Pinot—not a great one—that we would buy again if the occasion arose.

Three Miners Central Otago Pinot Noir 2004    $30        A Must Buy!
Earnscleugh Valley in Central Otago claims to have “the toughest conditions on earth to grow grapes and the extreme conditions produce truly outstanding wines.” We can’t vouch for the conditions but we’ll agree to the outstanding wine part. This New Zealand contender beats Brotherhood by a New York mile. It has a more refined nose, with hints of vanilla and cocoa and a bit of oak. Vibrant red fruit: cherries, some berries. Gary found it a “well balanced Pinot with just the right amount of tannin structure to juggle the fruit on the palate. This is a seductive Pinot. Once again, the Kiwis got it right!”  At more than twice the price of the Brotherhood, Three Miners is still, as one wag noted, just $10 a miner.  We strongly recommend it.