Wine Tasting Duel, Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio?
French Wine or Italian, The Choice For Wine Consumers Is Complicated
Apr 18, 2009
Many have a preference between red and white wine; fair enough. But the loyalty to the white variety of Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio is much more complicated than nationality. They are the same grape varietal; but that is where the similarity begins and ends. The duel between the "better" wine is cloudier than the product ever is.
Pinot Gris And Pinot Grigio Regions
Oz Clarke, author of Grapes and Wines (Websters, 2007) says that Alsace, France is the best Old World region for Pinot Gris because of climate. Pinot Gris needs long dry autumns to ripen and low yields for quality. In these conditions Pinot Gris renders a honeyed taste but also spices and exotic fruits.
Clarke mentions Oregon, the Okanagan, Ontario and New Zealand as some New World areas that produce good Pinot Gris but Alsace is the home of this grape. According to Kevin Zraly, author of Windows On The World, Complete Wine Course, (Sterling, 2009), Pinot Gris accounts for only 7% of the white grapes grown in Alsace but its influence is much larger.
Zraly claims that Italians don't put as much effort into their white wine production as they do for their reds. Pinot Grigio though has become a huge export, especially to the United States. In 1970, Italy produced 11,000 cases of Pinot Grigio and in 2007 they sold over 10 million cases to the U.S. alone (p.157). Clarke concurs and goes on to say that "north-east Italy's copper-tinged, relentlessly popular Pinot Grigio with light spicy, minerally flavours makes a sort of superior glugger" (p. 172).
The Wine Grower, the Wine Consumer and the End Product
But to characterize Pinot Gris as a sipper and Pinot Grigio as a glugger is not entirely fair. Carolyn Evans-Hammond ("Taste", BC Liquor Stores, Spring, 2009) said that Italians have been drinking Pinot Grigio for years especially with seafood because "Pinot Grigio is notoriously neutral so it doesn't bother seafood with strong flavours and aromas" and calls the harvest of "prepubescent berries" mute (p. 38). It is medium-bodied and has a lemon/green apple crispness and acidity for lighter meals.
Pinot Gris stays on the vine much longer so it is riper, less acidic, more flavourful, & full bodied. Zraly says the Alsatian winemaker of Pinot Gris " ferments every bit of the sugar in the grapes, which is why 99 percent of all Alsace wines are totally dry" and have usually more than 11% alcohol (p.23).
Jerry and Sherry Mussio of Starling Lane Winery, say process is important too. Their 2005 Pinot Gris won praise from Appellation America. Jerry, whose ancestors are from Friuli, explained that the Italians' Pinot Grigio provides a quick sippable wine, picked early and fermented once in stainless steel vats. The French process though is lengthier with riper fruit picked later, with vinification in stainless and sometimes oak barrel stages, giving a smoother end product with more complex finish.
Tastings and Pairings Count Too
Sometimes wine critics are more complimentary of Pinot Gris. Evans-Hammond (pp. 38-39) said "the resulting wine brims with flavours and aromas of richly spiced peach and other nuances" and "if you want to actually taste something, reach for Pinot Gris". But "Wine Spectator" actually listed a Pinot Grigio among its top 100 wines of 2008 and no Pinot Gris (Jan. 2009, p. 69) and an Oregon, not Alsace, Pinot Gris as a great value (p. 79).
So in the end, host your own duel between Pinot Gris from Alsace, France and Pinot Grigio from Friuli, Italy. Pair them with a creamy seafood pasta or even a Brie cheese. You will enjoy judging.
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