Pinot Grigio
Vintage image sourced on Pinterest
Much like Syrah & Shiraz, Pinot Grigio is one of those grapes that has more than one name. Pinot Gris, its French moniker, is the OG, but Pinot Grigio, the Italian version, is far and away its better-known sobriquet these days. This pink-tinged white wine grape has even more names in other countries, but the “Pinot” of it all is easiest to understand, since Pinot Gris is from northeastern France, where its near relation, Pinot Noir, does its thing to great fanfare. Wine grapes have this delightful tendency to spontaneously mutate, which is how Pinot Gris became part of the Pinot family, of which there are grapes like Pinot Noir (black), Blanc (white) and Gris (grey).
If you’ve only ever tried Italian Pinot Grigio, this tasting is your chance to expand your ideas of what this rose-tinted grape can do.
Stuff to know
Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are technically the same grape; the “grey” (Gris, Grigio) one in the Pinot family. Whether a wine is labeled Pinot Gris or Grigio can tell you something about its style though, since the best-known Pinot Grigios from northeastern Italy tend to be pale, dry and citrus-y crisp wines with a light to medium body. In northeastern France, particularly in Alsace, Pinot Gris wines are usually golden-amber-colored and weighty, with a rich, almost oily texture, juicy, ripe stone fruit flavors and a candied ginger-y bite that spices things up, especially when contrasted with a bit of sweetness.
Generally, producers in other parts of the world use these opposing styles to anchor their own wines along the spectrum of light and crisp vs. full-bodied and rich. If a wine says Pinot Grigio, expect it to err on the light and crisp side of things. If it says Pinot Gris, it’s a safe bet that it’s got some body-ody-ody.
The Grey Area
“Grey” might seem a strange choice for a pink-tinted grape, but the thing is that these widely planted grapes can be wildly inconsistent, ranging from a pinkish-amber-brown color to a grey-ish blue. Since white wines are usually made without grape skins, many Pinot Grigios lack any particularly significant color in the glass…but there are exceptions. Always with the exceptions in wine!
In Alsace, Pinot Gris wines tend to have a golden, almost amber color that can progress toward amber-brown with age. In Friuli, Pinot Grigio Ramato wines straddle the line between a white and an orange wine, with their light copper-colored hue that could almost pass for a salmon-colored rosé.
Skin contact isn’t just about color though. Grapes’ skins contain phenols, the best known of which is tannin. You know, that thing that makes many red wines feel scratchy and drying, especially on your lips, cheeks and gums. With white wines, we just use the word phenolics instead of tannin.
Phenols in grape skins are extracted when the skins spend time with the juice. If their time together is short, there is minimal extraction. Longer periods of time, especially during or after fermentation, impart more phenolic bitterness on the resulting wine. Phenolic bitterness is one of those things that’s hard to identify at first, but once you’ve pinpointed how it feels to you, you’ll catch it time and time again. Usually, it’s described as a slight bitterness, like almond skin, though for me, it often tastes and feels like white tea. There’s a feeling, not just a flavor, to phenolic bitterness. It’s astringent and slightly drying. It shows up most frequently on the finish, as the last thing you notice, and oddly enough, it can make a wine feel like it’s more acidic and lively than it actually is, making most wines more interesting.
Skin contact, even when brief, also impacts the flavors of the final wine and can add more body, or weight to the palate. When producers use skin contact in their Pinot Grigio winemaking processes, expect to find a deeper-colored wine and some phenolic bitterness.
What to look for in this tasting
When a wine is labeled Pinot Grigio, look out for a pale lemon-y color, light to medium body, citrus-y lemon-lime flavors and plenty of acidity. Some of these wines are simple and easy-drinking, while others have more weight and flavors of honeysuckle, white peach, golden apple and pear.
When a wine is labeled Pinot Gris, look out for a golden, even amber-y bronze color, a medium to full body, peachy flavors, plenty of acidity and a phenolic bitterness that adds ginger-y spice and complexity to the finish. These wines tend to have a textural weight that sometimes feels oily on the palate. Occasionally, there are Pinot Gris wines with a touch of sweetness, particularly amongst the versions from Alsace.
The wines
#1: Italian Pinot Grigio
Italian Pinot Grigio is the juggernaut that defines the grape variety today. Who hasn’t had a bottle of Pinot Grigio at a backyard gathering or a plant-forward restaurant? I’ve even seen Santa Margherita ads on TV and in popular women’s magazines, a rarity in the wine industry, which tells you everything you need to know about their massive marketing budget and corollary sales.
In northeastern Italy, in the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia area, Pinot Grigio reigns supreme…and there is a whole range of quality that goes along with the sheer volume. Generally, wines from Friuli and the Alto Adige are the most complex and interesting, with more than just the light, crisp citrus-y flavor to recommend them. These wines tend to have a bit more ripeness and body, along with flavors that move beyond citrus into white peach, salty salinity, honey and Marcona almond territory.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Stick with an Italian Pinot Grigio, preferably from the Italian regions of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia or Trentino Alto-Adige
#2: Alsace Pinot Gris
Alsace, in northeastern France, is a surprisingly warm and sunny region, thanks to shelter from the Vosges mountains. In the outrageously Beauty and the Beast-esque villages that dot the region, grapevines grow up and down mountain foothills and regularly bask in abundant sunshine. This sunny warmth extends to the wines’ style, since riper grapes tend to result in fruitier, fuller-bodied wines with higher levels of alcohol, up to and even beyond 14% abv. If you think that all white wines have lower levels of alcohol than reds, Alsace will prove you wrong time and time again.
As you’d expect, Pinot Gris goes by its French name in Alsace, and it’s not just the name that differs from its Italian counterpart. Alsatian Pinot Gris is often golden, even amber-y bronze in the glass, with aromas and flavors that speak so much more loudly, you might not even recognize the grape connection. Ripe peaches, golden apples and pears are complemented by a honeyed viscosity, smokiness and a ginger-y spice that markedly contrasts the fruity ripe flavors. These wines tend to have a bit of skin contact, hence the deeper color and fuller body, which also comes along with a phenolic bitterness that adds an extra zing to the wines’ acidity on the finish.
Some Alsatian Pinot Gris wines come with a touch of sweetness, so it’s worth taking a look at the back of the label to check if the producer has added a sweetness scale. Before you set aside anything but the driest of dry wines though, consider trying a lightly sweet style paired with salty snacks, a combo just as addictive as Kettle corn.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Stick with a Pinot Gris from Alsace, preferably a dry or off dry style
#3: German Grauburgunder
In Germany, Pinot Gris eschews its better-known names for something else entirely: Grauburgunder. This will only make sense if you know that Germans use “burgunder” in the same way the French use Pinot. There’s Grauburgunder for the “grey” Pinot Gris, Weissburgunder for Pinot Blanc and Spätburgunder for Pinot Noir, which confusingly, doesn’t translate to “black,” but instead, to “late,” referring to the fact that these grapes ripen later than their paler counterparts.
German Grauburgunder suffers from poor global consumer awareness, since there seems to be a pervasive reluctance to try wines with Germanic names, though this is less of a thing here in Denmark than it was in the States, which is unsurprising, given the shared border. This can mean that prices are lower than they ought to be though, so try not to pre-judge if a wine is less expensive than you’d expect.
A few German producers use “Pinot Gris,” since it’s easier on the export market, but many don’t, which makes these wines a bit more difficult to quickly understand based on name alone. Expect to find dry wines with medium body and moderately ripe fruit flavors of white peaches, golden apples and pears, with a spicy ginger or bitter almond flavor on the finish. Baden, Pfalz and Rheinhessen are the German regions best known for their Grauburgunder wines.
Worth noting is that Rülander wines are also Pinot Gris, though these wines are typically sweet.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Austrian or Hungarian Pinot Gris
#4: Pinot Grigio Ramato
Ramato wines, as they’re commonly known, are a baby step into the deep pool of orange wine. In fact, some Ramato producers would argue that their wines aren’t orange at all, that they’re simply their own thing. Lightly copper-colored, many Ramatos could pass for a rosé, or at least, one that leans toward the orange-y side of salmon.
Pinot Grigio, the grape used to make Ramato wines, is related to Pinot Noir and naturally has pink-ish skins, so when they’re included in the winemaking process, the resulting wine will also have a copper or even salmon-colored hue. The word ramato is thought to come from “rame,” an Italian word for copper.
Ramatos, from Friuli in Northeastern Italy, typically only have skin contact for brief periods, between 8 hours and two days. It’s entirely possible that this style was an accidental creation, since separating the juice from the skins in old basket presses was nitpicky and time-consuming, and not necessarily worth the bother. As winemaking techniques modernized, especially after the 1960s in Italy, white wines with zero skin contact became the norm, but Ramato wines have managed to cling on, persisting, if not always thriving. Luckily, the style is increasingly popular and more widely available today, and there are even producers in other countries mimicking Ramato wines these days.
If you’ve brushed off most Italian Pinot Grigio as simplistic, Ramatos will be right up your alley, since they tend to have more body and depth of flavor thanks to the skin contact, with aromas and flavors of apricots, orange peel and thyme added to the more typical citrus, green apple and floral flavors.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Stick with a Ramato wine, preferably from the Italian regions of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia or Trentino Alto-Adige
#5: New Zealand Pinot Gris
New Zealand may be best known for its Sauvignon Blanc, but its other white wines, particularly Chardonnay and Pinot Gris, really ought to garner more attention, since they’re straight-up delicious. Kiwi Pinot Gris leans Alsatian stylistically, but inevitably, geography plays a role. New Zealand’s North Island is warmer than the south island, though both are heavily influenced by the surrounding ocean’s moderating effects. Instead of vineyards that are pummeled by sunshine and warmth, as in Alsace, cooling ocean breezes, fog and rain slow ripening, resulting in Pinot Gris wines with more acidity, a lighter body and fruit flavors that are just ripe, instead of ripeness that borders on fleshy.
Don’t think this makes them any less structured though. New Zealand Pinot Gris are still big wines, and they have the alcohol levels to match, with up to 14% abv. Some producers use barrel aging and lees stirring to add further weight and textural complexity to the mouthfeel, and many use small amounts of skin contact to impart flavor, phenolic bitterness and texture, which also adds a golden-amber hue. Occasionally, there may be a touch of sweetness, too. Expect to find wines that feel fresh and weighty and the same time, holding their contrasts in balance with that signature purity and precision of which New Zealand excels. Aromas and flavors include honeysuckle, fresh hay, quince, peach, apple, pear and ginger spice.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Australian Pinot Gris/Grigio
#6: American Pinot Gris
Pinot Gris is one of those rare American wine styles for which it’s best known from a state that isn’t California. Oregon, home of world-famous Pinot Noir, is also home to gorgeous Pinot Gris. In fact, Pinot Gris plantings even outnumber even the ever-beloved Chardonnay plantings that seem to always go hand-in-hand with Pinot Noir.
Oregon Pinot Gris leans Alsatian stylistically, hence the “Gris” instead of Grigio. In the Willamette Valley, long, dry, mild summers tend to allow for slow grape ripening that helps to create wines with plenty of tangy acidity that contrasts nicely with round, rich texture and weight. These wines tend to be powerful and fruit-forward, with a bit more ripe fruit and a bit less smoke when compared to Alsatian Pinot Gris. Expect to find citrus-y lime and kiwis alongside peach, golden apples, pears and a ginger spice that kicks right into phenolic almond skin flavors on the finish.
Beyond Oregon, Washington State and California both have significant Pinot Gris plantings, though styles vary, so the choice to use either Pinot Gris or Grigio on the label should help point you toward a fuller-bodied or lighter style, respectively.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Stick with an American Pinot Gris, preferably from Oregon or Washington State
Tasting tips
The eats
Popular wines generally become popular for good reason, and Pinot Grigio is no exception. In the US, Pinot Grigio really gained steam in the early aughts, the decade when the ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) movement was in full swing, and consumers were looking for the next go-to white as a safe and reliable daily drinker. And Pinot Grigio is very much is that.
Pinot Grigio wines, though varied significantly in style, are ridiculously versatile. They can handle difficult-to-pair-with ingredients like artichokes, so feel free to bust out your favorite cheese-laden spinach artichoke dip. They can handle savory umami, so dive into all the miso, soy sauce and mushrooms your heart desires. They can even handle slightly sulfur-y boiled eggs, so that Niçoise or Cobb salad at your go-to salad joint works, too. Bitter kale salads? They get a check mark too, even when salty bacon is involved. Pinot Grigio can handle savory and bitter flavors with aplomb, so deck your table out with giant platters of bitter green-forward Spring salads and trust that everything will work out just fine.
If you prefer charcuterie, Pinot Grigio is just as versatile, though it particularly favors salty, milder cheeses like Feta, Manchego and Edam. Round things out with smoked ham, olives, dried apricots, olives and honey and you’ve got yourself a beautiful board.
The prep
Pinot Grigio wines are generally very affordable, even the more prestigious versions that are lesser-known and harder to find. The Veneto’s Pinot Grigio glut inevitably sets the tone for the rest of the world, so even the rare late harvest Pinot Grigio wines from Alsace are reasonably priced.
Some of these wines will be easy to find, others might take some time, depending on where you live. It’s worth giving your guests at least 2 weeks to find their wines for this tasting.
Encourage your guests to give their wines some pre-tasting fridge time, since this is a tasting where it’s best if the wines are chilled…but not too chilled. Lightly chilled is generally the goal here, so if the wines didn’t get their fridge time before arrival, just keep the ice bucket dunk time brief, since you’ll want to enjoy the texture, not just the flavors, of these wines and that’s difficult to do when they’re ice cold.
A note on the tasting order: The wines are listed in the order of which should be included first, so that if you have fewer than 6 guests/wines, you’ll still have a well-rounded experience ahead. However, the order in which you taste the wines, regardless of how many wines are included, is recommended as follows:
Italian Pinot Grigio
German Grauburgunder
Pinot Grigio Ramato
New Zealand Pinot Gris
American Pinot Gris
Alsace Pinot Gris
Sources
Oregon Wine Grape Plantings | Oregon Wine
