Best Pinot Noir Wine

Five Top Regions for Pinots

What regions have the best Pinot Noir wine? It is no secret that this red is becoming more popular. Due to its popularity, many people want to know what regions to look for when picking up this soft, yet sophisticated red wine. Read on to find the five regions producing the best on the market today.

Willamette Valley in Oregon

We'll start with the Willamette Valley in western Oregon. This cool climate growing area has made a name for itself in the last decade. The best Pinots from Willamette rank high with both professional and casual red wine lovers.

willamette valley pinot noir

Willamette Valley breaks out into six smaller sub-regions. Each region has a slightly different climate, but all specialize in this red.

Two sub-regions that stand out are Yamhill-Carlton and Dundee Hills. They have some of the best Pinot Noir wine in Willamette Valley.

Some of my favorite producers from Willamette include:

Argyle Winery
Beaux Freres
Chehalem
Domaine Serene
Erath Winery
Rex Hill
Shea Wine Cellars
Sineann
WillaKenzie Estate

You can also taste some of these for yourself. Find these and other great Oregon Pinots wines online.

Russian River Valley in Sonoma

The next one on the list with some of the best Pinot Noir wine is Russian River Valley. It sits on the southwestern side of Sonoma County in northern California.

best pinot noir wine

The Russian River Valley region runs near the Pacific Ocean. Sunny days and cool foggy nights allow the grapes to ripen to their full potential here. Many of these wines from this region are medium bodied and fill up the glass with aromas of ripe red berries.

Some of the best in Russian River come from the sub-appellation of Green Valley -- officially called Green Valley of Russian River Valley. Although there are only a few wineries in this sub-appellation, several Russian River wineries source grapes from other growers here.

Here are some producers to look for when buying Russian River Valley Pinots:

De Loach Vineyards
Dehlinger
Dutton Goldfield
Gary Farrell
Hanna Winery
J Vineyards and Winery
La Crema
Rodney Strong

Find some of these and other top Pinot Noir wines from the Russian River Valley online.

Burgundy (Bourgogne) in France

Some of the most expensive and best Pinot Noir wine comes from Burgundy in France. All reds from this growing area are almost always 100% Pinot Noir.

As with the other regions mentioned above, Burgundy also breaks out into several smaller sub-regions and villages. The Cote de Nuit sub-appellation produces some of the best Pinot Noir wine in the region. Top villages in this sub-region include:

bourgogne wine label

Gevrey-Chambertin
Morey-St-Denis
Vougeot
Vosne-Romanee
Nuits-St-George

Two other popular sub-appellations with great ones are Cote de Beaune and Cote Chalonnaise. Wines from these areas are usually a little more affordable, but still offer the classic Burgundy wine you would expect from here.

Top villages in Cote de Beune include Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Pommard and Volnay. Top villages in Cote Chalonnaise include Mercurey, Givry and Rully.

The French label their wines by region, sub-region or village. You will never see the type of red wine, in this case Pinot Noir, directly on the label. When buying from this region, search for wines that say "Bourgogne" -- the French name for the Burgundy region -- or one of the sub-regions or villages mentioned above. Find Bourgogne wines from Burgundy online.

Carneros in Northern California

The next region on our list is also in northern California. Carneros is a very small wine region on the southern side of both Napa Valley and Sonoma County. It is another place to find some of the best Pinot Noir wine in the world.

carneros pinot noir wine

Carneros sits just to the north of the San Pablo bay. The cooling winds from the bay keep the temperatures here moderate and make it another great place for Pinot Noir wine.

Producers of some of the here include:

Artesa
Buena Vista
Domaine Carneros
Etude
Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards
La Crema
Schug

Search for top rated Pinot Noir wines from Carneros in northern California.

Marlborough in New Zealand

The final region on the list of the best Pinot Noir is Marlborough in New Zealand. This is more of an up and coming region for this red and where you can still find some bargains.

The Marlborough region is on the northern, or "upper", side of the south island in New Zealand. This region is well known for its cool, crisp white wines. However, many producers are now trying their hand at this difficult red. It is a region you will want to try and also keep your eye on in the future.

These reds from Marlborough are not as easy to get your hands on as the other regions listed above. Here are just a few of the best producers from Marlborough that export throughout the world: