Red Grape · Trentino-Alto Adige

Pinot Nero

Italy's Pinot Noir, and its most shape-shifting red. In the cool north Pinot Nero turns out silky, perfumed still wines in Alto Adige and the Oltrepo Pavese, then reinvents itself as the backbone of Franciacorta and Alta Langa's finest metodo classico fizz.

Pinot Nero is the Italian name for Pinot Noir, the great red grape of Burgundy. In Italy's cool north it wears three hats. It makes silky, perfumed still reds in Alto Adige and the Oltrepo Pavese. It is also the backbone of the country's finest metodo classico sparkling wines, from Franciacorta to Alta Langa.

78
Bottles live now
18
UK retailers
7
Denominations

Setting it straight

More than meets the eye

vs
The reality
  • Still and redIn Alto Adige it makes a genuine, if pale, perfumed red.
  • Sparkling and paleIn Franciacorta and the Oltrepo it is pressed white for metodo classico.
  • Same grape, three winesCherry-scented red, taut sparkling and rose all come from one vine.
The myth
  • Skins make the colourRed wine takes its colour from time on the skins; press the juice off quickly and it runs almost clear.
  • The blanc de noirs trickPinot Nero pressed white is the basis of countless sparkling wines that look nothing like a red.

The anchor fact: Pinot Nero is a black grape, but much of Italy's is pressed pale to make white and sparkling wine, not red.

Taste · Where it sits

What it’s actually like in the glass

Forget scores out of five. Here’s Pinot Nero described against grapes you already know.

BodyLight
LightFull

The lightest of the serious reds, closer in weight to a rose than to a Nebbiolo, which is exactly why it partners fish and white meat.

TanninFine
SoftGrippy

Silky, fine-grained tannin you feel as texture rather than grip, gentler than Sangiovese and a world away from a tannic Aglianico.

AcidityRacy
SoftRacy

High, cool-climate acidity is what lets Italian Pinot Nero work at the table and drink well chilled, and what makes it such a natural sparkling base.

Fruit-sweetnessDry
DrySweet

Bright and bone-dry, its red-cherry and raspberry fruit lifted rather than sweet, always more perfume than flesh.

Key flavours

Cherry
Bright red cherry is Pinot Nero's calling card, fresher and more redcurrant-toned than the dark black cherry of a southern red, a signature of its cool northern homes.
Raspberry
Crushed raspberry and wild berry, the high-toned red fruit that gives young Italian Pinot Nero its lift and perfume.
Strawberry
Ripe wild strawberry, delicate and sweet-scented, most obvious in the paler Oltrepo and rose styles.
Violet
A floral top note of violet and rose petal that marks the grape's finesse and sets it apart from heavier, fruit-only reds.
Forest Floor
With age, damp undergrowth, mushroom and forest floor emerge, the savoury, earthy complexity that Pinot lovers chase.
Structured · Tannic Soft · Approachable Light-bodied Bold · Full Sangiovese Nebbiolo Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Barbera
Pinot Nero

The map

Pinot Nero is light to medium, soft tannin, mapped against other red grapes you can buy. The closer a grape sits, the more its weight and grip resemble Pinot Nero.

Pinot Nerolight to medium, soft tannin
Sangiovesemuch fuller, far more tannic
Nebbiolomuch fuller, far more tannic
Merlotmuch fuller, far more tannic
Cabernet Sauvignonmuch fuller, far more tannic
Cabernet Francfuller, firmer
Barberamuch fuller, softer

Is this for you?

An honest gut-check

Reach for it when…

A bold red that just works

  • You want a light, elegant red you can serve slightly chilled
  • You are pairing fish, poultry or mushroom dishes rather than steak
  • You love perfume and finesse over power and tannin
  • You want to see why Pinot Nero anchors Italy's best sparkling wine

Maybe skip it if…

You’re after something else tonight

  • You want a big, bold, tannic red
  • You are matching rich, chargrilled or barbecued meat
  • You prefer deep colour and dark fruit
  • You want maximum value; good Pinot Nero is rarely cheap

Serving guide

Pour it at its best

Serve at

14-16°C

Serve lightly chilled, 14 to 16C. Too warm and the delicate perfume and red fruit are swamped by alcohol.

Decant

No

Skip the decanter. Pinot Nero is fragile, and its perfume can blow off with too much air; just open and pour.

Glass

Pinot Noir Glass

A wide Burgundy bowl gathers the perfume and softens the acidity, the classic shape for the grape.

Drink within

3-5 days

Most Italian Pinot Nero drinks best young and fresh, within about five years, for its fruit and lift.

Cellar

Up to 5 years

The finest Alto Adige bottlings can age a decade, trading cherry for truffle, mushroom and forest floor.

On the table

What to eat with Pinot Nero

Start with the home-table matches that made the grape, then browse the full cuisine library.

Fillet steak

Lean red meat

Fillet steak

A tender, unfussy fillet lets Pinot Nero shine: enough structure to match lean beef, but the finesse not to bury it the way a big tannic red would.
Canederli

Alpine dumplings

Canederli

Speck-and-bread canederli come from the same Alto Adige valleys as Italy's best Pinot Nero; the wine's acidity cuts their richness while its earthiness echoes the smoked ham.
Cotoletta alla Milanese

Milanese cutlet

Cotoletta alla Milanese

Breaded, fried veal from Lombardy meets a local Oltrepo Pinot Nero: high acidity slices the richness and light tannin keeps it from clashing.
Chirashi

Raw fish bowl

Chirashi

Pinot Nero with salmon and tuna is a classic; its red fruit and low tannin flatter oily fish where a bigger red would taste metallic.

Browse every pairing

Chinese Chinese
Dim sum 2 Duck & Roast Meats 2 Stir-fries 2 Noodles 1
Italian Italian
Meats 2 Pasta 2 Risotto 2
Japanese Japanese
Sushi & Sashimi 2 Ramen & Noodle Soups 1 Tempura 1 Yakitori & Robata 1

Buy it · three to start with

Not sure which bottle? Start here

A curated trio across the price range, then every Pinot Nero on sale in the UK right now.

Entry · everyday

Pinot Nero Alto Adige DOC, Classica

Pinot Nero Alto Adige DOC, Classica

Alto Adige/Südtirol

1 retailer

£21.76

View Wine

Why this one: San Michele Appiano makes textbook Alto Adige Pinot Nero: pale, cherry-scented and silky, the grape as a pure still red.

The sweet spot

Azienda Agricola Bellavista Alma Non Dosato

Azienda Agricola Bellavista Alma Non Dosato

Franciacorta

1 retailer

£26.86

View Wine

Why this one: Bellavista's Franciacorta shows Pinot Nero's other life: pressed for a taut, mineral metodo classico sparkler with real red-fruit depth.

Special occasion

Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Pomino

Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Pomino

Pomino

2 retailers

£33.01

View Wine

Why this one: Frescobaldi's Pomino Rosso is a silky, ageworthy Tuscan take, proof of how far Pinot Nero travels beyond the Italian north.

12 of 60 bottles

Denominations

Where it earns a name on the label

The appellations where Pinot Nero plays a starring role.

Alta LangaDOCG Alto Adige/SüdtirolDOC FranciacortaDOCG LangheDOC Oltrepò Pavese Metodo ClassicoDOCG ProseccoDOC Sant'AntimoDOC

Where it grows

The places it calls home

Trentino-Alto Adige

Italy's alpine wine country: Teroldego from the Piana Rotaliana, Trento DOC sparklers raised on dolomitic limestone, and Alto Adige whites perfumed by glacial Read more

371 wines · 12 denominations

Lombardy

From Franciacorta classic-method bubbles to Valtellina mountain Nebbiolo and Lugana lake-cool whites, Lombardy spans 5 DOCGs across roughly 25,000 hectares of Read more

331 wines · 43 denominations

Aosta Valley

Italy's smallest wine region clings to terraces between 500 and 1,200 metres, where Prie Blanc, Petit Rouge and Picotener (Nebbiolo) catch the alpine sun. Read more

26 wines · 1 denominations

The terroir

Pinot Nero only works where it is cool, so in Italy it clings to the north and the hills, changing character with every valley.

Alto Adige

The Sudtirol villages of Egna, Montagna and Ora

Italy's most convincing still Pinot Nero: pale, perfumed and ageworthy.

Oltrepo Pavese

The hills of southern Lombardy

Italy's largest Pinot Nero planting, much of it pressed white for metodo classico sparkling.

Franciacorta

Eastern Lombardy

Pinot Nero as a structural partner in Italy's benchmark traditional-method fizz.

Editorial

About Pinot Nero

Pinot Nero is Italy's name for Pinot Noir. It is one of the oldest and most revered black grapes, selected over centuries in the vineyards of Burgundy. The vine is genetically unstable. Its mutations gave the wine world Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Meunier. The grape is thin-skinned, small-bunched and early-ripening. It demands a cool climate, which in Italy means the far north.

One grape, three wines: a whisper of a red, a pale blanc de noirs, and the spine of Italy's best sparkling.

Pinot Nero, Italy's northern chameleon

Its Italian heartlands are Alto Adige and the Oltrepo Pavese. In Alto Adige, the villages of Egna, Montagna and Ora make some of the country's most convincing still Pinot Nero. The Oltrepo Pavese, in Lombardy, is historically the largest planting of the grape in Italy. It also grows in Trentino, Friuli and the cooler Apennine hills.

Two faces define it. As a still red it is pale, perfumed and silky. Young wines show red cherry, raspberry and violet. With age they turn to undergrowth, mushroom and forest floor. All of it is carried on high acidity and fine, gentle tannin. As a sparkling base it is indispensable. It gives structure and red-fruit depth to the classic-method wines of Franciacorta and Alta Langa. Pressed white, it becomes an elegant blanc de noirs. Few grapes ask more of a site, and few reward it with more finesse.

Good to know

Frequently asked

Yes. Pinot Nero is simply the Italian name for Pinot Noir, the red grape of Burgundy. In Italy it is grown mainly in the cool north: Alto Adige, the Oltrepo Pavese and Trentino.

Italian Pinot Nero is light-bodied, pale and perfumed. Young wines show red cherry, raspberry and violet. With age they take on earthy notes of mushroom and forest floor. It has high acidity and soft, fine tannin.

Pinot Nero gives structure, red-fruit depth and ageing potential to metodo classico sparkling wine. It is a key grape in Franciacorta and Alta Langa. It is often pressed white to make a blanc de noirs.

Pinot Nero pairs with duck, roast chicken, mushroom dishes and Alpine plates like canederli. Its delicacy also suits salmon and tuna. As a sparkling wine it cuts fried and cured foods.

Pinot Nero grows in Italy's cool north: Alto Adige around Egna, Montagna and Ora, the Oltrepo Pavese in Lombardy, Trentino and Friuli. Much of it goes into classic-method sparkling wine.

Yes. Serve Italian Pinot Nero lightly chilled, around 14 to 16C. Any warmer and the alcohol overwhelms its delicate perfume and red fruit.

Explore by style

Wine styles made from Pinot Nero

Jump to the editorial guide for each style this grape turns up in.

Keep exploring

More red grapes