Pinot Gris

Organic Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris is a white-wine grape originally from the vineyards of Burgundy. It is now found in wine regions all over the world. For wines in the pale, light style popularized in late 20th-Century Italy, the variety is typically referred to by the Italian name Pinot Grigio

A member of the extended Pinot family of grape varieties, Pinot Gris is a pink-skinned mutation of Pinot Noir. The two varieties are indistinguishable in the vineyard right up until veraison. Then Pinot Gris berries take on their distinctive array of colors; anything from orange-pink to pale, dusty purple. The adjective gris is French for “gray”, and refers to the dusty, light-gray sheen the grapes often take on. This convention is widely used in Europe, notably in Italian (grigio), German (grauer), Slovenian (sivi) and Czech (sede)

Although sometimes used as a blending component, Pinot Gris is usually produced as a varietal wine. Flavors and aromas vary greatly from region to region and from style to style. But common features include notes of pears, apples, stonefruit, tropical fruit, sweet spices and even a hint of smoke or wet wool. Most winemakers avoid obvious oak character in their Pinot Gris, but some use older more neutral barrels for fermentation. For weightier, more complex styles of Pinot Gris, lees contact and partial malolactic fermentation are commonly used. Sweet late-harvest wines are also common.

Pinot Gris grapes are naturally low in acidity and high in sugars. Therefore the finest Pinot Gris wines come from the world’s cooler viticultural regions. Those from warmer climates tend to lack acidity and structure and can seem too alcoholic. Europe’s showcase examples come from vineyards on either side of the Rhine river, from Baden and Pfalz in Germany and, particularly, the Alsace region in France. In these regions, the wines are made in varying levels of sweetness, from bone dry to lusciously sweet. A Pinot Gris Selection de Grains Nobles from Alsace is one of the sweetest, most intensely flavored wines on earth.

Source : Wine-Searcher