red grape · regional staple
Pinot Meunier
France (sub-region disputed)
Say it
pee·nohmuh·nyay
'eu' in Meunier is the rounded French /œ/ sound, like 'uh' with pursed lips; -nier ends like 'yay'
On the palate
strawberryraspberryred cherryforest floormushroombread dough
How you spot it blind: sappy red fruit and bread-dough warmth; ripens earliest of the three Champagne grapes
The story
First written down · 16th century, France
Early-2000s DNA profiling confirmed Pinot Meunier is a somatic chimera of Pinot Noir: its outer epidermal (L1) cell layer carries a distinct VvGAI1 gibberellin-pathway mutation while the inner cell layers remain genetically Pinot Noir.
Where it lives
Champagne, France (esp. Vallée de la Marne) · Württemberg, Germany (as Schwarzriesling)
Shows up as
Champagnesparklingstill redrosé
If you like this, try
Also answers to Meunier.
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