There is a reason that white pinot has not caught on -- it is an inferior wine (to the same grapes used to make red wine). The pinot noir grape is rather tricky and delicate (why some of us love it so much) and it turns out that some critical elements of its flavour profile are from the skin. Vinifying it as a white wine eliminates much of that flavour; which would be sensible to do only if the flavours were off that year, or the skin contaminated for some reason, and this is an attempt to salvage the crop. There isn't a glut of good pinot noir grapes, unlike many other varietals, so I'd be suspicious of the reason any winery chooses to make a white pinot noir. As noted the vinification is well understood and done a lot for sparkling wines. In France always done as blanc de noir; but I've gotten quite fond of heavy red sparkling wines. Lots made in this style in Australia. Even a great red sparkling pinot noir by Darling Park (and bottled with a metal cap, like a beer bottle -- how refreshing). Better than Moet White Star imho as a reference point, though obviously a completely different style.