Gris and Grigio: Checking out the grey

Folks, no specific wines are reviewed in today’s entry, rather, here’s when I admit that I’m having a little love affair with pinot grapes. I’m tantalized by Pinot Noir, enamoured by Pinot Gris, oh-so-intrigued by Pinot Grigio, and quite partial to a Sparkling Pinot Chardonnay. I can’t wait to try the variety of non-Australian wines with a Pinot label.

Gris is French for grey, and the Pinot Gris grape which bears this colour is an old mutation of the Pinot Noir variety, named as the grapes wear a greyish hue. The Pinot part of the name refers to the pine cone shape the berry clusters form. These grapes grow throughout central Europe; but typically make their home in the Alcase region of France and Germany; and Northern Italy; and are fast becoming a popular variety in the cooler climates of Australia, being happily grown in the Mornington Peninsula, Adelaide Hills, Yarra Valley and Tasmanian wine regions

Looking at the Pinot white wines – Grigio, Gris – what’s the difference? According to the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) PinotG group, it’s where the wine sits on a “crisp” to “luscious” spectrum. Traditionally, the Alsatian and Northern Italian styles differ. Pinot Grigio (Italian) has tended to be lean, crisp, zesty and light, while the Pinot Gris (Alsatian) is known for having a rich, voluptuous texture. This difference has been scientifically measured by the AWRI using spectral analysis (shining lights through the fluid) to determine the constituents of the wines (the main components being alcohols, acids, sugars and phenolic compounds, which are mostly tannins). To check the results, human tasting panels were called in to conduct a simple blind tasting of six pinot gris and grigios. Each wine was placed on a nine-point continuum, from crisp at one end to luscious at the other. The professional tasters clustered the grigios (3.5-4.5 / 9) at the crisp end, and the gris (6.5-7.5/9) at the luscious end. There was a distinct gap between the groups. The human tasting results were in close agreement with the spectral analysis, and the ensuing PinotG Spectrum has proved to be a reliable way of determining how “Grigio” or “Gris” the wine is. (Check out www.pinotg.com.au for the PinotG graphic and more information.)

For now, I’m armed with a bunch of wines falling on either end of the PinotG spectrum. I suspect that, like all love affairs, I have to be in the mood and in a suitable context for carrying on with either party.