Red Bicyclette and Gallo: what’s in a name?

Red Bicyclette? You must be kidding. At least it is red, in color. But it has little to do with Pinot Noir, other than inappropriately using the grape variety’s name.
The best Pinot Noir generally does not go by that name, but rather by a village or vineyard appellation in Burgundy, the cradle of the variety. That’s France, by the way. In Burgundy, when the Pinot Noir is made right it is not syrupy, it is not redolent of cooked red fruit, it is not overly alcoholic, it is not any of the things that enamored so many of our fellow citizens (including wine reviewers and connoisseurs who can’t tell one grape variety from another) to this marvelous fake. The best Burgundy wines stand out because they are true to type, could be made nowhere else, with no other grape variety, and don’t pander to the lowest common denominator. “True to type” is what Food Wine Burgundy is all about.This scandal is yet another call to arms: respect the soil, the seasons, the essentials of terroir.