Try this lively pinot noir with all kinds of food pairings

What’s in a grape name? Those we see on wine labels are the names of grape “varieties.” They are members of a single species, but have been bred for specific traits over time. It’s a bit like dogs in that there are dogs bred for herding and dogs bred for hunting, and even tiny dogs bred to fit in your purse.

Among wine grapes, varieties can be selected around different goals, like making red wine or white, affordable wine or luxury wine, or even just to survive a home region’s harsh winters. There are thousands of grape varieties, but only a few dozen are of commercial significance in winemaking. Even fewer have achieved global name recognition, like pinot noir.

For red wine lovers, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon are the two grapes perennially vying for the red wine crown. People tend to prefer one or the other since they are in so many ways polar opposites. If speaking in broad generalities, pinot noir has thin skins and makes wines that look paler, feel lighter, and taste brighter. Cabernet sauvignon needs more heat to ripen fully, which makes its wines darker, heavier, and rich, but if underripe, a touch peppery and greener.

Pinot noir’s delicacy is its strength. It is graceful enough to pair with meat, fish, pasta, or vegetables, thanks to its brighter flavors of red fruits and berries, like cherries, pomegranates, or raspberries. This wine’s name perfectly conjures the lively tartness and sour cherry flavors found inside. Value-oriented pinot noirs can sometimes disappoint, but when the stars align as they do here, the wines can put their heavier, more muscle-bound rivals like cabernet sauvignon to shame.

$19.99 14.2% alcohol

PLCB Item #8573

Sale price through March 27 — regularly $22.99.

Also available at these New Jersey shops:

Wine Warehouse, Sicklerville, $16.99, winewarehousenj.com; Joe Canal’s, Lawrenceville, $17.99, jcanals.com; Berkley Fine Wine & Spirits, Clarksboro, $18.29, berkleyfinewine.com.