PINOT NOIR /CHARDONNAY ....

..... nothing wrong with that, its a blend that has been proven for centuries ..... for sparkling wine.

Most Champagnes are a blend of predominantly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with the addition of some other varietals like Pinot Meunier in smaller percentages. The 'house' style of the Champagne is usually defined by whether Pinot Noir or Chardonnay dominates in the mix.

To date though, apart from a few exceptions, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay haven't been blended together as a non-sparkling wine.

An exception

I like to experiment with my wines and often mix different varietals together to see what the outcome will be like.
Pinot Noir is my current preferred red wine type and Chardonnay is my current preferred white wine type. I have never however blended them.

Yesterday, on arriving home 'up North' I had a half full bottle of Chardonnay with me, a Thornbury 2010 taken from the fridge at our Auckland apartment.
While preparing dinner I thought that a glass of red would be good so looked in the freezer and pulled out a third full bottle of Omihi Hills 2008 Pinot Noir and a third full bottle of Brookfields 2010 Chardonnay. I gave them a quick 30 second blast in the microwave and got on with the food preparation. Picking up the Thornbury I thought that it could do with rapid chilling so decided to pour the rest of the Brookfields Chardonnay into it to have a blend of Chardonnays that would be slightly cooler than the original Thornbury. As both the Omihi Hills Pinot Noir and the Brookfields Chardonnay bottles were still slightly frosted even after microwaving, I of course poured the Omihi Hills Pinot Noir into the Thornbury Chardonnay. Bugger! I thought and then I tried it. The colour was a deep rose and the nose was indefinable - a strong unusual dense fruit character  not usually found in either Chardonnay or Pinot Noir.
The flavour - brilliant. No wussy Rose this. This is meaty, rich, strong and refreshing (chilled). A young man's Rose.