Pinot Gris Wines

Pinot Gris is a first class grape variety grown in Alsace, where it is known as Tokay Pinot Gris, and in Italy, where it is called Pinot Grigio and is widely planted in Friuli-Venezia and the Alto Adige. In Alsace it is best suited to the deep, clay rich soils found in the north of the region where it produces richly honeyed, dry whites as well as superb sweet late harvest Pinot Gris wines.

This wine has become one of the most successful wines grown in Oregon. Most versions of it are quite dry, but Pinot Gris wine can range from light and delicate to fairly full-bodied. It tends to be dry and crisp, the perfect accompaniment to salmon and seafood. It can be rather subtle in both flavor and aroma, though the best examples are reminiscent of almonds, minerals and peaches.

Pinot Gris Wine Tip:

In a food-and-wine context, Pinot Gris wines really enhance salmon, for example, because the wine’s acidity balances against the oily richness of the fish, and its broad, complex fruit flavors (reminiscent of pears, peaches and citrus) add a flavorful, slightly spicy nuance to the unmistakable taste of the salmon’s flesh. Pinto Gris wines mild aroma never intrudes on the taste.