The Pinot vine probably originates from the area between Lake Geneva (Switzerland) and the Rhône Valley (France). Its presumed origin in Italy, based on the synonym Clevner, is unlikely. The Cistercian order brought it to the Rheingau in the Middle Ages, from where it then spread throughout Europe. According to the most likely variant, the French term "Pinot" is derived from the elongated grape shape, which is similar to the cone of a pine tree (French "pin"). The oldest names still in use today were Auvernat, Morillon and Noirien in various spellings, but confusingly these were also used for other varieties.

Naming

It was first mentioned as Moreillon in 1283 in the municipality of Beauvais near Paris. The name Pinot first appeared in 1375 in an edict of the Duke of Burgundy Philip II the Bold (1342-1404), in which he ruled in favour of Pinot Vermeil over the high-yielding but low-quality Gamay variety. A mention of Pinoz (mz. of Pinot) in 1394 indicates that there were already several Pinot varieties at this time. From the 15th century onwards, various spellings such as Pignotz, Pinot, Pynos, Pinotz, Pineau etc. were used. It was not until 1896 that the standardised name Pinot was agreed at a congress in Chalon-sur-Saône (Burgundy).

Ancestry

The ancient grape variety Allobrogica, mentioned by the Roman authors Columella (1st half of the 1st century) and Pliny the Elder (23-79), could possibly be an ancestor. That it was brought to the Rhine by Emperor Charlemagne (742-814) and planted there at his palace in Ingelheim (Rheinhessen) cannot be proven (but is not impossible). And the fact that his great-grandson Charles III (839-888) had the variety planted in 884 near Lake Constance in his "royal vineyard" is not proven, as no variety names are mentioned in the document in question.

The French ampelographer Louis Levadoux (1912-1985) assumed in 1956 that it was descended from wild vines, but no genetic relationship could be proven. DNA analyses carried out at the Klosterneuburger Weinbauinstitut (Lower Austria) by Dr Ferdinand Regner in 2000 revealed a parent-offspring relationship between Pinot and Traminer (Savagnin Blanc). A further analysis revealed a parentage of Pinot Meunier; however, this is generally regarded as a Pinot Noir mutation. The VIVC catalogue lists several DNA analyses from 2013 (T. Lacombe, Boursiquot Jean-MichelJ. M....