Posts Tagged ‘Pinot Grigio’

If pinot gris and pinot grigio are both pinots, then they can’t be that different, right?

Not so fast.

Despite the fact that both wines are white and come from the pinot grape variety, pinot gris hails from the Alsace region of France, whereas pinot grigio exists mainly in Italy. As anyone even remotely familiar with wine knows, a wine’s taste can differ greatly depending upon where it is grown. Just like real estate, it’s all about location, location, location.

Both grapes come from the pinot noir, but over time their separation and growing habits have transformed them into their own sort of grape, giving each one different flavors and end results. Pinot gris flavors can be medium to full-bodied and can range in color. Pinot grigio is much lighter, with a dry, crisp flavor. It is also much lighter in color. Though they taste different, their similarities lend them both to summertime drinking and enjoyment with chicken, fish, and “light” foods. Both are also very good for cooking when it comes to enhancing flavors.

Ultimately, whether you choose pinot gris or pinot grigio will depend upon what you like most.

White wines are not all created equal.  Certain white wines will remain in the cellar for a long time before they peak and are suitable for drinking.  Others peak rather early, making for a tasty bottle without all of the waiting.  So which bottles are ready to go and which ones need some time alone?

Pinot Grigio needs only a year or so before it’s ready to be poured into your glass.  Though it is important to remember that this does not necessarily mean all Pinot Grigio bottles, it does include a large majority of them.

Chardonnays need only a year or two more than Pinot Grigio.  These tend to include the bottles that don’t cost an arm and a leg; if you spot one of those, it may have remained in the cellar a bit longer.

Grüner Veltliner wine takes things up a notch, needing as much as eight years before its release to the public.

Cru Chablis rolls right off the tongue, however, if you want the wine to roll off your tongue, the wait can be as much as a decade.

At the longest timeframe of twenty or potentially even more years is the Auslese Riesling.  They don’t call Riesling one of the noble grapes for nothing!