Pinot Noir vs. Cabernet Sauvignon

One is usually lighter in color, the other a bit darker in hue. One tends to be suave and soft in mouthfeel, the other more firm and structured. One is considered the “heartbreak grape” for how difficult it can be to grow, whereas the other has relative success in landscapes all across the globe.

But there’s one thing that Pinot Noir—that’s the light, smooth, hard-to-grow one—and Cabernet Sauvignon—the hardier varietal—have in common: They’re core characters in an age-old debate between wine aficionados of which red wine is the world’s best.

1949: Gathering grapes in a vineyard at Pommard, near Beaune, in the Cote D’Or district of Burgundy. – Photo by Central Press / Getty Images

Distinct Origins and Disparate Evolutions

Before we delve into those arguments, let’s cover the backstories of these legendary grapes.

Pinot Noir is believed to harken back to at least the 1st century, when a scribe from Spain described vines from the Burgundy region of France with details that ring true today. The name “Pinot,” however, wouldn’t show up until the 14th century, when it was deemed Burgundy’s best grape.

Cabernet Sauvignon, by comparison, is but a baby. The grape is the result of a hybrid between the red Cabernet Franc and the white Sauvignon Blanc that happened most likely by accident in the Bordeaux region of France during the 17th century.

Though later to the game, Cab quickly fell into vogue, becoming a core player in many Bordelaise blends. By the mid-1800s, the grape—which commonly expresses dark berry fruit alongside more savory, herbal earth tones—was already finding footholds in emerging wine countries elsewhere, from Australia to California’s Napa Valley, where it became the darling of America’s post-Prohibition wine scene.

Pinot Noir, meanwhile, didn’t gain speed in the New World until the 1980s. But the variety’s hallmark traits of zesty acidity, fresh red fruit and sharp spice didn’t explode beyond Burgundy connoisseurs until it was romanticized in the 2004 Oscar-winning folks Sideways.

Since then, Pinot Noir more than doubled in acreage in California alone, and is now the state’s second most widely planted red grape at about 45,000 acres. But Cab still dominates, with nearly 100,000 acres in the ground.

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Grapes — Getty Images

Reliability Versus Novelty

“Cabernet has intensity, but also captures a lot of nuances and finesse too,” argues Simon Faury, the French-born, Napa-trained winemaker of Crown Point Vineyards in Santa Barbara County. “It’s like a rugby player. It can be strong, but it can also turn quickly and be light on its feet.”

He’s made Sonoma Coast Pinot as well—“nobody’s perfect!” he quips—and finds Cab to be a more reliable variety. “Pinot is a very sensitive grape, a complicated and tortured varietal, like that neurotic friend that you only want to catch on a good day,” he laughs. “Cab is your best friend. It’s gonna hang with you, it’s gonna be positive. At the end of the day, you can always count on Cab.”

Shalini Sekhar, who consults on Pinot Noir for boutique brands like Neely and Xander Soren, agrees with the sensitivity part. “It’s an unforgiving grape,” she says. “There’s a sick part of me that likes micromanaging and worrying. Pinot is worry-all-the-time.”

That malleability may be its biggest asset. “Pinot shows more sense of place than pretty much any other grape,” says Aaron Walker, winemaker at Pali Wine Co., which has sourced Pinot Noir from all over the West Coast. “That makes it a more interesting and more elusive wine. You have to really work hard to find a Pinot Noir that fits your preference.”

That can be a challenge for new wine drinkers. “They can be confused by Pinot Noir, whereas Cabernet Sauvignon is more of a beginner wine,” says Walker, who’s also made Cab from many regions in California. “It’s much easier to understand, much easier to drink. It has a lot less variation. Even within California, there are a lot of similarities with Cab grown in different regions.”

This versatility in style and flavor also mean the thin-skinned grape is highly flexible when it comes to pairing with food. “Pinot Noir is the most perfect red,” says Sekhar matter-of-factly. “It goes with literally everything. You can work with fish. You can work with multi-ethnic cuisine. You can have a steak.”

Cab lovers will certainly quibble over that last item. For as long as the grape has reigned atop the red wine game in the New World, it’s been paired with juicy chunks of beef, whether that’s prime rib, grilled sirloin or a fat hamburger.

Toasting with a wine glass full of Pinot Noir and a wine glass full of Cabernet Sauvignon — Getty Images

So, Which One Wins?

Food pairings aside, each varietal has its own merits and much of the debate comes down to personal preference.

For Walker, the real evidence lies in how each variety is used historically. “Cabernet Sauvignon is often blended, especially in Bordeaux. It’s not a standalone grape,” he says. “Pinot Noir is almost never blended. So, if Cab needs help by blending, you could say that it’s not as good as Pinot Noir, which stands alone all the time.”

The two grapes are so deeply ingrained in the life of Diana Snowden Seysses that she finds it difficult to have much perspective. “It’s practically a Proustian cookie, my madeleine,” says Seysses, who makes Pinot Noir as the winemaker for Domaine Dujac in Burgundy but also makes Napa Cab for her family’s Snowden Vineyards and Santa Cruz Mountains Cab for Ashes & Diamonds.

“Pinot Noir is more hedonistic, very sensual, with very fine tannins, it’s easy to get lost in,” says Seysses. “Cabernet is more intellectual, much more structural. There’s a different kind of pleasure. It’s more of a whips and chains kind of pleasure.”

Old World Cabs tend to show a bit more minerality and structure than their New World counterparts. But these days, Seysses says that styles in all regions, including Bordeaux, run the gamut from super rich and ripe to incredibly lean and savory. “You can find examples of both in either place and everything in between,” she says.

That’s not the case for Pinot Noir, which produces a much different wine in its ancestral homeland compared to the rest of the world. “There are very few examples of limestone outside of Burgundy,” says Seysses. “I would like to think I would never confuse them.”

Like everything in wine, the victor in this smackdown will depend on each imbiber’s personal preference.

If you’re seeking to start on, perhaps, a never ending journey of exploration that may wind up in tragedy because you can no longer afford benchmark Burgundy, Pinot Noir is the right call. If you’re looking for a more stable-footed, predictable pour, opt for that Cab.

Or, you could always just say, “yes” to both.