To be fair, this is only the second Pinot Noir I've had, and the first was an older, aged French wine. This is this year's "new" Barefoot Wines Pinot Noir, and honestly, at the bargain basement price of $4.89 a bottle at a Fred Meyer grocery store, I'm not sure I should expect much. There's a sticker on the bottle prominently marking it as a "New Release," so I take that as a reasonable caveat.

The aroma of Barefoot's Pinot Noir is pleasant, fruity, a little like very dark cherries and a hint of bitter chocolate. The color is quite attractive; dark crimson red, with garnet lights. In taste, well, it's very rich and fruity, very much like a dark Washington cherry, sweeter than I expected it to be, but that's about all I taste. It's not at all unpleasant, it's just that it's not much of anything. I have a second bottle, and tomorrow, I'll subject it to the ultimate test for table wine; how is it with a really good burger?

I did in fact try the Barefoot Pinot Noir with a burger. It is much better with a burger, but I wouldn't buy it again. I think I'll revisit Barefoot's Pinot Noir next year, out of curiosity. And I think it's important to note that like the sticker on the bottle says, this was a very new bottle. Here are some other reviews; these are all by much more knowledgeable reviewers, but I note that like me, they're not waxing enthusiastic. The Iowa Wino weighs in, as does Jorry from the Spirit of Wine, and Kadymae.