Shades of Gris

What’s in a name? How about Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, Ruländer, Graubergunder, Malvoisie, Tokay d’Alsace and Szürkebarát—all names for the same grape, which is technically not a variety in its own right but a mutated clone of Pinot Noir. Talk about an identity crisis.

The color of this grape ranges from a grayish blue to a brownish pink, and sometimes these colors are found in the same cluster. The grape name and the wine name are often one and the same, but the spectrum of flavors and styles the grape produces vary from light and crisp to unctuous and sweet.

In Italy’s Friuli-Venezia-Giulia—a region befittingly with three names—the best examples of wines from these grapes (here called Pinot Grigio) are layered with minerals, stone fruits, and a touch of spice. From the Pacific Northwest, where the grape is Oregon’s most-planted white varietal, the character is more mouth-filling and reminiscent of melons and apples, sometimes accompanied by a little spritz.

Counted as a “noble” variety in Alsace, it was once called Tokay d’Alsace. This classic French region produces complex, sometimes super-rich styles in dry and off-dry versions as well as late harvest wines called “Vendage Tardive.” All of these can show honey, spice, pear, apple, and minerals with a slight nuttiness that hints at bitter.

In Switzerland, the grape is called Malvoisie in Valais and gives perfumed and rich wines. Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Romania also produce wines from Pinot Gris, where it is goes by a number of different names—Ruländer (for the sweet German, Austrian, and Romanian versions), Grauburgunder (for dry versions in Germany and Austria), and Szürkebarát in Hungary—but please don’t ask me to pronounce that one.

Tags: wine | Pinot Noir | Pinot Grigio