Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris – What a Difference a Few Letters Make

Pinot Grigio is the Italian name for the same grape that is called Pinot Gris in France. Typical of France, the last letters of each word are not pronounced so it would be ordered as Pino Gre. But while there is a minor difference in name for the same grape, there is a MAJOR difference between what is in the bottle that says Pinot Grigio and in the bottle that says Pinot Gris.

Italians look to that grape for a dry, light bodied, very simple wine at low cost. They grow it to have a high yield (lots of grapes) and harvest those grapes very early to have high acidity. I consider this wine a great example of Plonk, wine this just not worth drinking, even if it is free. A fundamental principle of this blog is that I am only talking about my tastes and you are welcome to disagree and have Pinot Grigio as your favorite wine. We will not be competing for who gets the last glass out of the bottle.

There is one exception to my putting the Plonk label on all Pinot Grigio. In the tiny Alto Adige region that borders Switzerland and Austria in the very northern part of Italy, they have both great skiing in the Alps and excellent wine. They control the yield and harvest later which gives their Pinot Grigio some good character. But their wines typically start at $20 and go up from there, a big difference from the simple Pinot Grigio that is sold through out Italy.

The primary location in France that makes Pinot Gris is the Alsace region where people keep French and German flags in the closet since after each war they were part of a different country. In addition to excellent Rieslings, Alsace limits the yield so the fewer grapes have much more flavor and they harvest later so the grapes have more sugar and greater complexity. That additional sugar can be used to make wines that are off dry or slightly sweet but most of the Pinot Gris allows the yeast to consume the sugar during fermentation and the result is a very nice dry white wine that is full bodied with medium acidity and nice complexity for matching to a number of different foods.

A number of other regions of the world have chosen to keep the French name for the grape and to also produce wines that have very nice body and taste. South Africa, Australia, and Oregon are three places where they are making excellent Pinot Gris.

A very good example of that is the wine in the picture which is from the Willamette Valley Vineyard (WVV) in Oregon. I own a tiny amount of stock in this vineyard but the only reason it is in my cellar is that I really enjoy this wine. The grapes are picked at peak ripeness which lets the flavors and tannins (yes, there are tannins in white wines and they add to the flavors) have nutty, spicy, and earthy qualities. This wine has a big mouthfeel and the ability to age in the cellar. Whole clusters of grapes were lightly pressed and then cold settled. Fermentation was 5 weeks at temperature of 55-60 degrees F. The wine was sur-lie aged in stainless steel tanks for 6 months with the tanks being stirred monthly.

The aromas are yellow fruit – pear and grapefruit with some honeysuckle. The taste immediately tells you that this is no simple white wine. It has round juicy flavors of Meyer lemon, honeydew melon, and jasmine. The 13.3% alcohol comes from letting the yeast consume the sugars and create a crisp dry wine with a very nice lingering finish.

This is a great seafood wine, especially seafood with lots of flavor like crab, grilled shrimp and salmon. It is also excellent with poultry and should definitely be on your short list for Thanksgiving, especially is you have any members of the ABC Club (Anything But Chardonnay) at your table. With no oak flavors and the interesting complexity, they will really enjoy this wine with their turkey.

You can order this wine from the WVV website for $18. COSTCO often carries it as well as several other WVV wines in those states where they can sell wine. I hope you enjoy this wine as much as I do.