Last week marked Pinot Noir Day and, although there was no advance warning here, it was thoroughly celebrated – and there are excellent bottles to recommend right now.

Pinot Noir is known as the 'Heartbreak Grape'. It is stubborn, unpredictable, sensitive and tantrum-inducingly difficult to grow. Yet it is still harvested across the world because this thin-skinned grape creates spectacular wines. As hard as it may be for growers, these wines are a blessing for drinkers. The grape mutates readily and adapts to different soils and climates, which is one reason it thrives everywhere from its spiritual home in Burgundy to the cool valleys of New Zealand and Tasmania.

Burgundian Pinot Noir

This is a wine of flavour and grace that can pair with everything from red meat to mushrooms. It is a natural partner for duck and pork, but its low tannins mean it slips down with dishes usually reserved for white wines – fish, soft cheeses, warm salads. It is a wine served with many of the greatest meals.

Pinot Noir is the grape behind the red wines of Burgundy, some of the most expensive in the world, but it is just as beautiful when put to use by other countries. New Zealand is a phenomenal country for the grape, bringing aromatic elegance and spice. The Seifried Pinot Noir (VINVM, £18.50) has gravitas, with a savoury earthiness enlivened by piquant red cherry. Further south, the cool climate of Tasmania is a region rising fast in the wine world for its sparkling wines, but its delicate reds should not be ignored.

South African sun-ripened freshness

The Dalrymple Vineyards is better known for its Pinot Noir (The Wine Society, £33). It opens with a satisfying smack of frazzle crisps, followed by smoke, herbal whispers and bright cranberry bursts underpinning it.

Germany's Pinot Noir, often referred to as Spätburgunder, typically shows precision and a finely honed structure. The M&S Palataia (Ocado, £10) is a lovely, svelte example of refined red berries and finesse that is also pocket-friendly.

A visit to Cramele Recas in Romania revealed that the country can grow brilliant Pinot Noir but, as the style is not popular there, most of it is exported. The Incanta (Majestic, £10.50) sources its grapes from Macedonia and is also superb – a bold, bright wine with a hint of baking spice that adds a dash of complexity.

South African wines rarely disappoint with their sun-ripened suppleness and freshness. The Paul Clüver Village (Ocado, £17.50) is velvet soft with a sophisticated expressiveness – a wine for food or to sip as the evening closes in. Elgin, where Paul Clüver is based, is one of the country's coolest wine regions, a fact that suits Pinot Noir's preference for slower, cooler ripening.

One grape, so many different guises. Pick up a bottle for a belated celebration this week.

Further recommendations

Squerryes Rosé 2022, £45 (Hedonism): Summer's desire for sparkling pink is still going strong, and this traditional-method fizz is bright with peaches and rose hips with a long finish. Squerryes is an established English winery not far from London, with an excellent restaurant and bar.

Domaine de Chantegrive Chasselas Blanc, £19 (Laithwaites): Very little Swiss wine reaches these shores, so this is something different – a food-friendly Alpine white from the slopes around Lake Geneva. The Swiss usually keep it for themselves, so snap up this fresh, generous treat of a wine.

Terrazas de los Andes Chardonnay, £17 (Ocado): Argentina produces some of the silkiest, fruit-forward Chardonnay around. The high mountain slopes keep the wines refined and elegant, and the superb winemaking calls to mind lemon squeezed over ripe papaya, rounded out with wisps of vanilla.