Meunier

Also known as Pinot Meunier, Pinot Meunier (Schwarzriesling).

Meunier, also called Pinot Meunier, is a dark-skinned member of the Pinot family and one of the three classic Champagne grapes alongside Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Its name ('miller') refers to the flour-like white down on the undersides of its leaves. In Italy it is grown chiefly in Trentino as a permitted variety for the Trento DOC metodo classico sparkling wines.

It brings fruitiness, roundness and early approachability to sparkling cuvées, budding late and ripening relatively early, which suits cooler mountain sites. In still form it is uncommon in Italy; its role there is essentially as a blending grape for bottle-fermented spumante.