How Proper is Your Pinot?
Posted by Kerith, July 28, 2008I am a fairly conservative individual and generally, a rule-follower. I stop at stop signs, am timely with federal and state taxes, abide by our neighborhood noise ordinance, and use commas with great care. As both a wine and grammar aficionado, I read the following tidbit with great interest, “Note that in general the names of grape varieties are capitalized,” (excerpted from the UCD syllabus for the Introduction to Winemaking, Viticulture and Enology 3). Despite a college degree in English, this oeno-grammar rule is new to me. While Pinot noir (their caps, not mine) is fundamental to our business plan and central to our personal enjoyment, “Pinot noir” (again their grammar rule) pales in proximity to other legitimate, proper nouns. Mount Kilimanjaro, First Street, San Diego Padres - all caps to be sure. President Bush - even if you don’t like him, he’s still our leader. Burgundy, France. Yup, both places, caps all around. But Pinot noir? A true proper noun? This requires further evaluation.
I can understand the capitalization of grape varietals when part of a bonafide title, as in The 2004 Robert Mondavi Carneros Chardonnay. But what about, “I prefer my chardonnay unoaked?” The difference is akin to capitalizing the word “mayor” when it precedes a gal’s name versus its use in a general context. For instance, we capitalize here: “Mayor Jerry Sanders has a difficult job.” But not here: “Kris Curran is so central to the evolution of cult, California Pinot noir that she is its unofficial mayor.” But apparently, I am wrong.
Confused, I consulted the famed Little Brown Handbook. In no explanation did grape varietals conform to any criterion for proper nouns. While Bruliam Wines, a trade name, is, of course, capitalized, “wine’s fall harvest” is not (unless it is the title of a book, unbeknownst to me). Pinot noir may be difficult, trying, tough, willful, and capricious, but these are actually descriptors of a rigorous viticultural process, not categories of the Playboy Girls Next Door. Although attributing human foibles to Pinot noir’s notorious “personality” constitutes a goofy, oeno-lit tradition, it is a stretch to equivocate grape varietals with race or nationality (i.e. Caucasian, American Eskimo, or German). So is Pinot noir really a proper noun? How often is “in general” a means to a capitalized end?
I have since e-mailed the famed grammar girl for her explanation of this thorny grammatical dilemma and still eagerly await her response. Meanwhile, I solicit help from you, gentle readers.
Hi, Kerith,
I just got back from vacation and have stuff piled everywhere on my desk, but I couldn’t resist pulling down my Chicago Manual 14e to check into this very interesting question, about which even the copyeditor’s Bible (or bible?) seems to be confused.
Names of plants and animals
section 7.107
Common names of plants and animals are captialized in a bewildering variety of ways, even in lists and catalogs having professional status. It is often appropriate to follow the style of an “official” list, and authors doing so should let their editors know what list they are following.
Section 7.108 In the absence of such a list the U of C Press recommends a down style [no caps] for names of wild plants and animals, capitalizing only proper nouns and adjectives used with their original reference, or suggests consulting a standard dictionary . [Webster's New World Dictionary, by the way, gives pinot noir as the first entry, with P-N as an alternative style.]
Section 7.110 Many domestic breeds and varieties, however, have been given special names, sometimes fanciful, that must be respected. This is particularly true of horticultural varieties ofo plants that may be patented or may possess names registered as trademarks.
ex. Queen of the Market aster, Peace rose, Golden Bantam corn, Hale Haven peach [but no grape examples given]
You might want to investigate copyrights, registered trademarks, or the existence of any “official lists.” Meanwhile, I’m not going to let this dilemma interfere with my enjoyment of p-n P-N!
Best regards,
Barbara
Barbara, thank you for your excellent comments. Seeing contradictory rules from the same editing manual highlights the confusion and lack of uniformity that besiege this grammar conundrum. Indeed it seems the folks at Delong Wine have been contemplating the same question, followed by a deluge of comments from the grammar police! Apparently, New York Times Manual of Style and Usage says not to capitalize grape variety names. However, their blog also points out that wine grapes are a botanical “cultivar,” and variety names constitute a “cultivar epithet” that should be capitalized, offset by single quotes, and not italicized. Thus the scientific, botanical name reads Vitis vinifera ‘Cabernet Sauvignon.’
In response to the patent/ trademark issue, a great majority of the modern pinot vines in California and Oregon hail from well-documented Dijon clones imported from France. These include a trademarked selection designated by the ENTAV (Etablissement nationale technique pour l’amelioration de la viticulture), known in the UC Davis rubric as UCD 113, 114, 115, 667, 777, and 828. But as you point out, the Chicago manual fails to use Vitis as an example!
After reading your comments, in conjunction with my own thoughts, I compiled an unofficial and admittedly biased study based on the wine books in my personal library. The following 5 authors do not capitalize variety names: John Winthrop Haeger (North American Pinot Noir), Ruth Reichl (Garlic and Sapphires, The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise), Marq de Villiers (The Heartbreak Grape), Karen MacNeil (monthly columns in Cooking Light magazine), and Eric Asimov of the New York Times. Not to be outdone, the following folks do use caps: Halliday and Johnson (The Art and Science of Wine), Jay McInerney (A Hedonist in the Cellar), Harold McGee (On Food and Cooking), Gaiter & Breecher (WSJ Guide to Wine), and Oz Clarke (Grapes and Wine). Final tally - 5 to 5, evenly split. But in my heart, I still don’t think grape variety names in and of themselves qualify as proper nouns. Now what do I do? Buy another book?
-Kerith