Bryan's Creek Vineyard, one of Adelsheim Vineyard's estate vineyard properties, with blocks of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Blanc.
In the wine world, the term “noble grapes” has come to represent six well-known international varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.
According to Gina Hennen, winemaker at Adelsheim Vineyard in Newberg, Oregon, U.S., these varieties gained their royal title in part because they have a “heightened ability to express how and where they were grown.” Plus, they’ve been planted across the globe, she says, and have formed the “cornerstone” of winemaking over the last few centuries.
Hennen works with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but she doesn’t use the term “noble grapes” to describe them. She doesn’t think it’s useful to elevate a small set of wines based on variety.
“In my mind, true provenance is a question of where the grapes are grown, how the wine is made, and whose hands were involved in that process,” she says.
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