Lucy wines might be seen as the little sisters to Pisoni’s Estate Pinot Noir and its Lucia wines, if only because they are the family’s “youngest”—the wines most recently brought into being. If Lucy Rosé of Pinot Noir, Lucy Pico Blanco, and Lucy Gamay Noir are the most recent additions to the wines Pisoni crafts, all three are central to Pinot Noir—the grape Gary Pisoni was among the first to plant in the Santa Lucia Highlands and that is as rewarding to cultivate as it is tricky to grow.
The peach blush of the Rosé, the deeper red of the Gamay Noir, and the almost translucent lightness of Pico Blanco are family, three wines of different hues connected genealogically to the Pinot Noir grape. Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are color mutations of Pinot Noir, while Gamay Noir is Pinot Noir’s offspring.
Meet Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is one of the oldest cultivated grape varieties in the world, with roots stretching back over a thousand years in what is now Burgundy, France. Because it is a thin-skinned grape that is sensitive to soil, sunlight, and temperature, it is also one of the most expressive of the place where it is grown.
Pinot Noir loves cool growing conditions, and is a natural fit for Monterey County and coastal California. Fog, wind, long days and cold nights, as well as earth rich in granite and marine sedimentary soils are all elements that coax Pinot Noir into fruition.
One Grape, Two Colors, Six Variants
If you look at the Pinot Noir genealogy chart, Pinot stands out as genetic source point. Several of the world’s most important white varieties aren’t simply similar to Pinot Noir, they are color mutations of the same grape. Thousands of years ago, this grape experienced natural, vine-level mutations that changed the pigment in its berries while leaving its DNA essentially the same. As Wine Folly’s Madeline Puckett explains, the mutation in color led to the creation of six different winegrape variants with the same DNA but different skins: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Teinturier, and Pinot Noir Précoce. While the grape’s outer appearance has shifted, its fundamental character remains largely intact.
You might notice this family resemblance firsthand just by winetasting. Try tasting a Pinot Gris alongside a Pinot Blanc, for example, and it’s possible that despite different tones and textures, you’ll detect the quiet intensity they share. Lucy Pico Blanco is built on just this combination of variants–both of which share Pinot Noir’s genetic blueprint. And Lucy Rosé of Pinot Noir is, of course, the parent grape in its purest expression. But where does Gamay Noir fit in?
Enter Gamay Noir
While Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are color mutations of Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir is Pinot Noir’s offspring—the result of a crossing of this grape with Gouais Blanc that was initiated centuries ago and that winemakers have since selected and propagated into the Gamay Noir vine.
Gamay Noir is not the only wine resulting from the crossing of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc. Modern DNA research reveals that Gouais Blanc is surprisingly the parent of as many as 20 additional offspring including Chardonnay, Aligoté, and Melon de Bourgogne to name a few (Janis Robinson, 2013).
Gouais Blanc itself is one of the most consequential and important grapes in wine history because of its genetic contribution to the world of wine. Gouais Blanc repeatedly crossed with Pinot Noir over the centuries has produced an extraordinary number of the most celebrated grape varieties in history.
The Big Picture
You can gain a better sense of just how influential the Pinot Noir grape has long been by taking a look at its genealogical history side-by-side with those of the world’s many other grape varieties. The Genealogy of Wine chart is a remarkable schematic. It is a sprawling, tangled map of hundreds of varieties that is rich, if a little dizzying, at first glance. Look closer, and you’ll find a complex and productive weave of crosses, mutations, ancient ancestors, and modern discoveries.
Now locate the Pinot grape, in the middle of a large white circle on the top righthand side of this map. Even a quick glance at this area clarifies how significant the Pinot branch is to the wine family tree—one, as Janis Robinson notes, that possesses 156 varieties. No other variety comes close to Pinot in terms of genetic influence. Nor does any other variety have more clones than this winegrape cultivar. Lodi Wine Growers note that Pinot Noir has more than 1,000 registered clones.
Here’s Lucy
The Genealogy of Wine map reminds us that the history of making wine is a story very much in the making. It is a story alive with determined experimentation and hard-won cultivation as well as coincidence and natural selection. With its elegant Pinot pedigree, Lucy is part of this history. Next time you admire the delicate structure of Lucy Rosé of Pinot Noir, or take in the lifted aromatics of Pico Blanco, or enjoy firsthand the bright, fresh energy of Gamay Noir, know that you are in your own way part of this history of wine making and wine tasting, too.
Explore the Lucy lineup at lucywines.com
Literature Sited
Puckette, Madeline (2014) Wine Folly
The Big Secret About Pinot
Robinson, Jancis (2013) JancisRobinson.com
Pinot’s Extraordinary Pedigree
Pop Chart New York (2014) Genealogy of Wine poster
Popchart.co
Grant, Stan (2021) Lodi Wine Growers
Variety Focus: Pinot Varieties
