Pinot Grigio - The Ikea of the wine world?

Inexpensive Pinot Grigio is the Ikea of the wine world - let's face it. While when we're first old enough to go there, it's hugely exciting and grown up but soon, we realise that it's not exactly inspiring. Sure, amongst the clean, neutral lines you get the occasional flash of a fruit shape on those beige curtains (pear?), but so often it's just plain old glug-glug. Pinot Grigio has become a relatively inexpensive and recognisable brand that does the job until you can afford to graduate onto more exciting and perhaps more expensive things.

It has always amazed me that one of the most widely drunk white wines in the UK is something so neutral and uninspiring. While there are some fabulous Pinot Grigios hidden away out there, these are just not the wines you see in your average pub or restaurant over here. But it can be great - really. You just need to know where to look!

So, before we look for some good ones, what is Pinot Grigio anyway?

Pinot Grigio is the grape, hailing from Italy but now also found in many places around the world. It's the same grape as Pinot Gris - 'Gris' is just French for 'Grey' whereas 'Grigio' is the Italian word.

When a wine is Pinot Gris however, you will often find that there's a slight difference in style. The stony, neutral character is replaced with more texure, aromatics and general, sweet ripeness. 


Why not explore this grape a bit? It can make a very beautiful wine if you look further than the pub!

Tasting Tour:
Start cheap and Italian from the Veneto: this is the 'Ikea' version: clean, neutral, with some stone fruit and white flower character if you're lucky. Highly gluggable!

Next, stay in Italy, but try the region of Friuli. These wines have a little more weight and character.

Alsace for richer, more weighty wines with a floral note. This is Pinot Gris territory.

America's North West is a fabulous place to grow Pinot Gris. Try something from Oregon today: http://www.northwest-wine.com/Pinot-Gris.html

California impressed me recently with some round and ripe Pinot Grigios with character and texture. We just can't find them easily over here in the UK! I liked this place: http://www.benesserevineyards.com

Digiboy doesn't believe me that this wine can have character. We'll soon see about that...

Winebird x

The pulling power of Pinot!

Digiboy made me laugh this week. His friend had called him up in a panic asking which wine he should go for on his hot date. 'I'm thinking Pinot as it's trendy', friend told him. 'Great', said DB, 'So what's the problem?' Friend replied 'Erm...what is it?'

Classic. There's much confusion around 'Pinot' in this country as in many pubs and bars if you ask for one, you are served a rather neutral Italian white wine. This my friends, is not the wine that all the fuss has been about. Oh no! This white wine is Pinot Grigio. 'Pinot' is generally used to refer to Pinot Noir; a delicate red grape that has the potential to produce incredible wine.

Pinot Noir is like a Tango (the dance, not the drink!). It's extremely complex and difficult to get right. When not done properly, it can be rather mediocre and awkward, but when conditions are right and the masters get hold of it, oh boy! It's the most elegant and intriguing thing you ever saw. Miles, the protaganist from the film Sideways sums it up well when he says that its flavours are "the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and ancient on the planet".

If Pinot were a person, it would be Audrey Hepburn. Nuff said.

Pinot's spiritual home is Burgundy, France. Frustratingly, to get what the fuss is about, you often have to pay a lot of money and get something with a few years of age on it. That's when it's best. I wouldn't start in Burgundy though. Instead, I'd follow the tasting map below to get a good idea of what ths grape can do around the world. These have all become classic regions for Pinot in their own right. Some are made to mirror the Burgundian style and some aren't at all:

Wine Language Tasting Tour:
Start in Chile and then work your way to New Zealand. If you can find it, next try one from Russian River Valley in California or Oregon and then work up to Burgundy, France. (Note - you will not see Pinot Noir written on the label in Burgundy. If it says Bourgogne - which is French for 'Burgundy' - and it's a red wine, it's almost certainly a Pinot Noir.)

TTFN,

Winebird x

Teach me how to read a wine list!

With another client dinner looming, this was the first question DB (Digiboy) asked me on our very first winebird 'date'. Over several glasses of red, white & rosé, we tackled this question by first considering:

What do you fancy drinking?

A gutsy red? A steely white? If you don't want to just ask the waiter at this point, start with the grape. While styles can vary all over the world, the general flavour profiles of the various grape varieties will be very similar anywhere so, get to know a few of the famous ones.

Here are some simple pointers for the best-known RED GRAPES:

• Chunky, dark, full bodied and blackcurranty = Cabernet Sauvignon
• Soft, chocolately, juicy red fruit = Merlot
• Big, warming, peppery and jammy = Shiraz / Syrah (same thing!)
  
• Lighter bodied and fine, stewed spicy cherries = Pinot Noir
• Silky, concentrated, blueberry and plum = Malbec

And some WHITE GRAPES:

• Dry, grassy, elderflower, cat pee (and sometimes tropical fruit!) = Sauvignon Blanc
• Richer, ripe melon & buttery = Chardonnay
• Steely, dry, crisp and chalky = Chardonnay when it's a Chablis! (more on this later)
• Weighty, floral, peaches and orange blossom = Viognier
• Zesty, lime-citrus and rubber = Riesling

Easy, no? No, because as mentioned above, many labels show no mention of a grape! Instead, they are named after areas. As the area itself denotes a particular grape and style, you need to get to know these. Here are some well-known ones. Print them out and keep them in your wallet!

• Chablis -Chardonnay grape (yes it is!) Named after the village where it's produced in Northern France. Steely-dry, chalky and very elegant.

• Sancerre - Sauvignon Blanc grape. Named after a village in the Loire valley famous for this style of Sauvignon: grassy, elderflower, dry and crisp.   

• Chateauneuf-du-Pape - a blend of red grapes, usually Grenache, Syrah & Mourvedre. Named after the region in Southern France. Big, warming, Christmas cakey & figgy.  

• Chianti - Italian region, famous for red 'food' wines made from Sangiovese.

• Burgundy - French wine region famous for reds made from Pinot Noir and whites made from Chardonnay. Some of the very finest wines come from here but they're not cheap! 

• Bordeaux - Another French region famous for fine red blends dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Like Burgundy, you usually have to pay big bucks for the good stuff.  
•  
• Beaujolais - Another French region famous for very light, soft reds tasting of bubblegum and strawberry that are drunk young. Made with the Gamay grape.

• Rioja- Tempranillo grape often with lots of oak aging from the Spanish region of the same name. 

So, Grape and / or Area are generally the two most important pointers on labels, so start with these! The other elements is Producer or Brand Name. As you get more into wine, you'll probably start to pick up which producers are best from an area and which should be avoided.

• Producer is often written as Chateau X or Domaine de X or international versions of that such as Bodega (Spain) and Finca (Argentina).   
• Brand Name. Self explanatory. Check out Fat Bastard or Bob. 

**Style Tip: Hot Climates= Bigger, fruitier and often more alcoholic wines. Cool Climates = Leaner, more elegant, usually with less alcohol**

The examples above are highly generalised, but it doesn't help to go into too much detail too soon. Start with this and we can move on later!

Until next time,

Winebird x

p.s. (Try this great page from the 'winedoctor' for more info on grapes...)