Expanding the Field

A few weeks have gone by, and the grape arbor is becoming less surprising by the hour. With that in mind, I have just ordered our next two grapes; to keep Mr. Muscadine company. First, and most prominent, I have procured a pinot noir. This will be the chief of our grapes. It will always come first, it will always command every vintage and mixture, it will always lead. We started drinking red wine in East Lansing with a few types of Chianti, thp thp thp. In our exploration we sampled several verieties of Merlot, and Shiraz, but the pinot noir was always the most intriguing. I got the vines from a website called mypersonalvineyard.com, from Visalia, California, of course. Here is what they had to say about it:

"Pinot noir ('pi no nwar) is a red wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines produced predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the french words for "pine" and "black" alluding to the varietals' tightly clustered dark purple pine cone shaped bunches of fruit. Pinot noir grapes are grown around the world, mostly in the cooler regions, but the grape is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France. It is widely considered to produce some of the finest wines in the world, but is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine."

In addition to our raison d'vineyard, we purchased a Cabernet Franc. The vineyard down the street, the Grove, uses this version. We wanted another established grape. The website said:
"Cabernet Franc is one of the major varieties of red wine grape in Bordeaux. It is mostly grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but is also vinified alone, particularly in Chinon in the Loire.[1] It is even made into ice wine in Canada. Cabernet Franc is lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon (of which it is a parent),[2] contributing finesse and a peppery perfume to blends with more robust grapes. Depending on growing region and the style of wine, additional aromas can include tobacco, raspberry, and cassis, sometimes even violets. The Cabernet franc wine's color is bright pale red. Cabernet Franc is one of the major varieties of red wine grape in Bordeaux." And we resume waiting anxiously for delivery.