Desperately Seeking...

[stevebody]

I'm a wine buyer, steward, and founder of a wine group here in Seattle and work as a wine consultant to more than a dozen restaurants, so what I'm about to ask is a little embarrassing but I'm going to ask anyway:

I do not and never have gotten what the hell is so fascinating about Pinot Noir, either American or Burgundy. I've asked every one of my Pinot weenie friends and none of them has EVER come up with a coherent answer. One mumbled something about complexity, another said he liked the red fruit component. I find them insipid, too light, and somehow incomplete. The only one I've ever tasted that absolutely rolled my sox down was a 1998 Bouchard Le Vigne de L'Enfact Lesu, which still had too little depth to make it of great interest to me.

I'm not out to challenge anyone's explanations. I simply don't get what the big deal is and would like to have an inkling because, as a wine salesman, this is my Achilles Heel. I WANT to like Pinot. I just don't.

Any coherent English ideas would be GREATLY appreciated.