Turning Leaf Pinot Noir Review (2023)

Turning Leaf Pinot Noir Featured

What Kind of Wine Is Turning Leaf Pinot Noir?

Turning Leaf Pinot Noir is a dry red wine from California. Globally recognized for impressive, pure fruit combined with elegance, California Pinot Noir, blends fruitiness and body excitingly. Turning Leaf Pinot Noir has aromas of berry and cherry blended with spicy hints of chocolate in the mouth. These lead to a caramel finish balanced by a crisp acidity.

The region of California is defined by the hot Mediterranean-style climate that offers warmth to the Pinot Noir vines. Due to this heat, the grapes increase their flavor concentration, giving luscious and rich wines. For the most part, Pinot Noir wines display red fruits, such as strawberry and raspberry, earthy elements, and bright acidity. Some Pinot Noir examples may also show tastes of barnyard, underbrush, and leather.


Turning Leaf Pinot Noir Review

  • Winery — Turning Leaf
  • Country/Region — United States, California
  • Type — Californian Pinot Noir
  • Aroma — Blackberry, Blueberry, Strawberry, Apple, Wet Soil, Vanilla Spice
  • Grapes — Pinot Noir
  • Taste — Cherry, Raspberry, Peach, Chocolate, Caramel, Black Pepper, Cinnamon Spice
  • Alcohol Content — 13.5%
  • Sugar — Dry
  • Pairing — T-bone Steak, Veal, Deer, Chocolate Soufflé

Turning Leaf is a pleasing California Pinot Noir. With an elegant berry nose, accompanied by a hint of earthiness and a palate showing cherry, peach, and chocolate, Turning Leaf Pinot Noir is stimulating and a good wine for consumption at a relaxed dinner or a family meal. Do not overthink it. Turning Leaf Pinot Noir is all that you need!

Overall Rating: 3.9

Positives
  • Fruity
  • Easy-To-Drink
  • Balanced Structure
  • Great Finish
Negatives
  • Slightly Sweetish Aftertaste

Tasting Notes

Turning Leaf is a medium-bodied Pinot Noir. It opens with aromas of berry and cherry, infused with vanilla spice and soil. The grippy tannins are in perfect balance with red fruit flavors. Notes of chocolate combine with cinnamon spice and lead to a sweet finish. Turning Leaf Pinot Noir, therefore, has a tasting profile that pleases with an abundance of concentrated tastes. It embraces its Californian heritage to the fullest and is smooth and savory. Fantastic!

Appearance

Turning Leaf Pinot Noir wine has a welcoming appearance. By pouring the wine into a glass, a pale ruby color surfaces. It develops into purple on the sides after a few vigorous swirls. The center is transparent, while the tears are long and watery. For wine enthusiasts this beautiful color transformation is enchanting, almost grand.

Aroma

As expected from a Californian Pinot Noir, Turning Leaf’s nose has rich aromas of black and red fruits. Blackberry and strawberry offer an unmistakable elegance, as a hint of apple adds an extra aromatic layer. Subtle touches of earthiness and spice also accompany these fragrances. Wet soil and vanilla conclude the aromatic profile, leaving behind a sweet-smelling impression to wine fans.

Taste

Turning Leaf Pinot Noir has an exquisite palate, fruity and delicious. Red and stone fruit surface as the wine enters into the mouth, with cherry, raspberry, and peach being evident later. Flavors of chocolate and caramel glaze this medium-bodied Pinot Noir, while notes of black pepper and cinnamon spice contribute richness to the mouthfeel. The tannins are grippy and give elegance. Fruity and savory, this wine is an unmatched red.

Finish

With a long and sweet finish, Turning Leaf Pinot Noir bids its goodbyes. The fruitiness of the nose and the caramel flavors of the palate persist across the end. Finally, a crisp acidity refreshes and counterbalances the intense creaminess, cleaning the mouth. What a conclusion to a chic Pinot Noir!

Rating

As a fruit-forward but complex Californian red, Turning Leaf Pinot Noir is approachable and charming. It is elegant and delicate, as Pinot Noirs should be. With berry and cherry aromas and flavors mingling with chocolate and spices, the wine displays a heartwarming character. Very few Pinot Noirs are so accessible, well-balanced, and delicious. As a consequence, Turning Leaf Pinot Noir gets a fantastic wine recommendation.

Turning Leaf Pinot Noir Food Pairing

A juicy T-bone beefsteak and a bottle of Turning Leaf Pinot Noir is my recommendation for the perfect barbecue day. As also is a plate of veal Milanese. Both types of meat suit the cherry flavors of the wine. On top of that, the raspberry and black pepper notes complement especially the tenderness of game meats like venison. And if you feel bold, pan-fry venison’s wobbly bits, like liver, heart, or kidneys. Then, serve them with a glass of Turning Leaf Pinot Noir. The flavor combination will sweep you off your feet. During dessert, pair the wine with a chocolate soufflé as it matches the wine’s inherent chocolate personality.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Makes Turning Leaf Pinot Noir?

Turning Leaf Pinot Noir is made by Turning Leaf Winery in Modesto, California. It is an “Award-Winning, Affordable California Wine.” The people behind Turning Leaf Winery pick quality grapes from some of California’s best winegrowing regions, producing wines that are soft and inviting. What’s more Turning Leaf belongs to E. & J. Gallo Winery, one of the largest California wine providers.

How Is Turning Leaf Pinot Noir Made?

Since Turning Leaf Pinot Noir is a typical red dry wine, the standard wine-making process takes place. The Pinot Noir grapes are harvested at optimal ripeness when the color, flavors, acids, and tannins are balanced. Then they are crushed, de-stemmed, and fed into stainless steel vessels to undergo alcoholic fermentation.

This stage is responsible for giving the final wine its texture and shape its strong character. During the process, the temperature increases until the grape juice ferments and is ready for racking. Afterward, it goes through a complete malolactic conversion. The latter adds structure and body to the wine, ensuring stability. Eventually, the wine is filtered and bottled.

Where Is Turning Leaf Pinot Noir Made?

Turning Leaf Pinot Noir is produced in California, which is the center of the American wine industry. California is also home to some of the oldest vines around the globe and state-of-the-art wineries. It is made from one-hundred percent Pinot Noir grapes, best known for giving delicate wines with a soft texture. California’s Mediterranean climate combines warmth and cooling influences from the Atlantic and delivers a diverse range of inexpensive and premium wine styles, satisfying worldwide wine enthusiasts.

How to Serve Turning Leaf Pinot Noir?

Turning Leaf Pinot Noir is best served in good-sized red wine glasses or balloon-shaped wine glasses for extra elegance. The large size enables the air to come into contact with the wine surface. In this way, the wine breathes while the strawberry bouquet and black fruit flavors elevate. Turning Leaf Pinot Noir is ideally served at a temperature of sixty degrees Fahrenheit (fifteen to eighteen degrees Celsius). That said, Pinot Noirs can also benefit from a light chilling. The lively berry notes become crispy, while the acidity invigorates even more.

How Much Does Turning Leaf Pinot Noir Cost?

Turning Leaf is one of the most affordable Pinot Noir choices on the market. Everyone can savor it without significant cost-considerations, as Turning Leaf Pinot Noir price ranges from $5 to $12 per 750ml bottle, depending on retailer and vintage. With this low price, Turning Leaf is a very approachable Pinot Noir, obtainable by any wine fan. So, go on, just buy it!

How Long Does Turning Leaf Pinot Noir Last?

Through controlled maturation, Turning Leaf Pinot Noir has the potential to evolve in structure. Although, I would not recommend it. Turning Leaf is a fruit-forward wine, and attempting to age it, may cause a significant decrease in its light and youthful personality. Maturation also might decrease the wine’s vibrancy. If aged, Turning Leaf should develop tertiary flavors like fig, prune, and wet forest floor. The wine should be sealed with a cork and stored in a safe environment with a degree of humidity and room temperatures that do not fluctuate (sixty degrees Fahrenheit or ten to fifteen degrees Celsius).

Direct sunlight or artificial light must be avoided at all costs, as the wine may suffer irreparable damage and become faulty. On top of that, the storage environment should be odor-free when storing the wine bottle since the cork allows a small amount of air to come inside to maintain freshness. That tainted air may affect the wine structure and cause malfunction to its berry and cherry flavors. Turning Leaf Pinot Noir matures ideally for up to two to three years. Otherwise, it starts losing its freshness, giving way to unpleasant tertiary flavors.

How Many Calories Does Turning Leaf Pinot Noir Have?

A glass of Turning Leaf Pinot Noir makes a suitable dietary option. More specifically, there are about 25 calories in 1 fluid ounce of the beverage or a total of 192 calories per serving. The calorie breakdown is 0 grams of fats, 0 grams of sodium, 0 grams of total carbohydrate, 0 grams of protein, and 0 grams of total sugars. Consequently, Turning Leaf Pinot Noir calories need a bit of monitoring. In general, though, they do not pose a threat to consumers who care about their calorie intake. Turning Leaf Pinot Noir alcohol content is 13,5%, a standard alcoholic concentration for a Californian red wine.

Conclusion

Turning Leaf is a pleasing California Pinot Noir. With an elegant berry nose, accompanied by a hint of earthiness and a palate showing cherry, peach, and chocolate, Turning Leaf Pinot Noir is stimulating and a good wine for consumption at a relaxed dinner or a family meal. Do not overthink it. Turning Leaf Pinot Noir is all that you need!

Scroll to Top