Meunier, also called Pinot Meunier, is a white-downed mutation of Pinot Noir, best known as one of the three grapes in Champagne, used there for its round, fruit-forward contribution to sparkling blends. California's numbers show a slow decline: bearing acreage has fallen from 195 acres in 2000 to 121 acres in the latest report, spread across 9 counties. It is grown here almost entirely by sparkling wine producers, following the same supporting role it plays in Champagne rather than as a still, standalone red wine variety.
What kind of grape this is
- Registry name
- PINOT MEUNIER
- Species
- VITIS VINIFERA LINNÉ SUBSP. SATIVA (DE CANDOLLE) HEGI
- Berry color
- NOIR
- Country of origin
- FRANCE
- Parentage
- PINOT NOIR MUTATION
- Synonyms
- 80
- Approved on a US label
- Meunier (Pinot Meunier)
- FPS selections
- 2
CDFA prints it as Meunier
confirmed by DNA markers
names this grape is known by elsewhere, per VIVC
the names TTB permits on a bottle
distinct clones and selections held at UC Davis
Registries
What is published
Counts describe what this atlas holds for Meunier, not what California grows. A zero is a published answer: it means the source names the grape and reports nothing under it, or does not name it at all.
- 155
county-years of acreage
9 counties, 121 bearing acres in 2025
- 112
district-years of crush
8 of 17 crush districts, 26 crop years
- 112
district-years of Brix
tonnage-weighted at the crusher, Crush Report Table 3
- 5
producers in this atlas
producers whose curated wine list names it — a curated roster of 2,772 producers, not a census of California
- —
regions with a maturity date
not one of the eight cultivars with a
Acreage in California
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Counties and concentration
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Where it is planted
Reported by county — never by AVA
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Share of each county's vineyard
Reported by county — never by AVA
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The counties
Reported by county — never by AVA
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Tonnage and price by district
Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA
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Brix at the crusher
Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA
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Growers in this atlas's roster
- Flora Springs Vineyardsbottled
Winery · Brut Cuvee
- Longboard Vineyardsbottled
Winery · Brut Rosé La Marée, Brut Sunset Cuvée
- Mumm Napabottled
Winery · Sparkling Pinot Meunier
- Calstar Cellarslisted
Brand · Pinot Meunier
- Hook & Ladderlisted
Brand · Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, Pinot noir
5 of this atlas’s 2772 curated producers, 3 of them with a named wine in the atlas made from it. A roster is not a census — this is who the atlas has entered, not who grows the grape in California.