WineLife365

I love all kinds of wine, but for the life of me I’ve never been able to understand the insatiable thirst that Americans have for Italian Pinot Grigio.  Sure, there are a few that I enjoy drinking, but as a whole I find most Pinot Grigios to be no more interesting than an ice cold glass of lemon water on a hot summer day.  Clearly though, there are a lot of Americans out there that have a totally different opinion about this white wine, since Italian Pinot Grigio is the number one imported white wine in the United States.   

With a gazillion Italian Pinot Grigios washing up on US retail shelves and restaurant lists, you might be interested to know that this “Italian recognized” grape is really not an Italian grape at all.  Pinot Grigio is actually the Pinot Gris grape whose origin can be traced back to Burgundy, France.  The Pinot Gris grape is said to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir red grape.  The color of the Pinot Gris grape is grayish-blue which is how it got its nickname “Gray” Pinot.  Additionally, in the vineyard since the leaves and the shape of the grapes look identical on both the Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir plants, workers have to wait for the color of the grapes to change in order to tell them apart.  So where am I going with all of this Pinot Gris textbook information?  I have one word for you-Oregon.  Why Oregon you ask?  Because Oregon is home to some of the tastiest Pinot Gris in the world my friend! 

So what makes Pinot Gris from Oregon much more special than Pinot Gris (Grigio) from Italy?  I’ll tell you why – Oregon Pinot Gris is a relatively unknown delicious treasure that many Americans are overlooking.  There are a lot of interesting styles of Pinot Gris that are produced in the Willamette Valley in Oregon that mix old school and new school winemaking processes.  Oregon Pinot Gris is generously packed and I mean packed with big flowery aromas and citrus flavors that deliver a truly exciting taste that will absolutely knock your socks off!  In way of the food department, an Oregon Pinot Gris can really cozy up well with grilled seafood, chicken, or pork.  In my opinion, Oregon Pinot Gris is just a flat out more serious style of wine that pushes your taste buds to limits that most Italian Pinot Grigio wines cannot achieve.

If you’ve never tried a Pinot Gris from Oregon before, a fourth of July BBQ is a great time to try one.  A few great Oregon winery names to look for would be WillaKenzie Estate, King Estate, and Adelsheim.  If you still can’t stand to part with your beloved Italian version, try an Italian thirst quencher from the Alto Adige or the Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions.

Enjoy and have a great holiday weekend!

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