Poor ol’ Pinot Grigio. The pale yellow stepchild of the wine world that sommeliers love to hate continues to have a curse against it when compared to many other higher quality white varieties. The grape has been called “innocuous” and tasteless by many and is often considered to be made only for those wine drinkers who don’t like wine.
Pinot Grigio is the often mass-produced Italian version of Pinot Gris, a mutant clone of Pinot Grigio, with much of it produced in Veneto and throughout the northern part of the country. The wine is often very neutral in taste with high yields muting much of what this grape has to offer. When trying to pick out Pinot Grigio blind, there are few distinguishing attributes that set the grape apart from the others. Instead, you may be led to believe you are drinking any other number of whites that portray citrus fruits, minerals, honey, pear, grapefruit, apple… you get the idea. After some research, I found only 3 characteristics that were not listed with other white wines including chalk, cream and steel.
Of course, the summertime is ripe for sipping chilled quaffers on the porch and many think of Pinot Grigio as well as Sauvignon Blanc and Rose’ this time of year. Here are couple of Pinot Grigio’s I have recently tasted, and I would love to hear your love/hate relationship with this grape.
2008 Olos Pinot Grigiofrom Venezie: Only $10 at Sherlock’s, this wine is aromatic with lemongrass, citrus, apples. Good body and acid.
2008 Luna Pinot Grigio from Napa Valley [Disclaimer: this wine was received as a free sample from the winery]: The color is closer to the golden part of the spectrum more so than the usual pale offerings. Pears, lemon and grapefruit are evident on the nose. There is some obvious weight to the mid-palate and a little hint of spice on the finish. The level of acidity is right on. This wine was fermented with native yeasts mostly in steel tanks with the remaining 6% fermented in French barrel. 5% Chardonnay was blended in as well to help with “balance” according to the winemaker.
To borrow an old joke, Pinot Grigio is like having sex in a canoe: it’s f**king close to water.
In 2005 and 2006, I went to every public wine tasting I could find, so I was hitting 20 or 30 wines every weekend. I would taste everything in an attempt to train my palate, but it only took a few months for me to get really angry at Pinot Grigio. I never went on a Sideways-style rampage, but in a lineup with other wines, PG always tasted like water. In a pure PG tasting, it was like trying to discern between Coors Light and Bud Lite. I don’t mind subtle flavors, but I’m not a fan of things like American macrobrews or vodka where the intent seems to be to remove as much flavor and aroma as possible.
I started to completely avoid it, and by association Pinot Gris from around the world. Big mistake. I’ve recently found some that are made in a fuller style with more personality, as well as amazing Pinot Gris from Oregon. It’s still not a grape that I go out of my way to find, but I’m trying to be more open minded about it.
Benito,
Same here on most accounts. and great analogy to drinking that horse pi** known as Coors Light – thought it was a staple back in the college days. I also enjoy some good Pinot Gris from Oregon which is how I ‘”rediscovered” it during our visit in 2008.
Much like improvements made in domestic Merlot lately, hopefully we’ll continue to see the same in PG.