Well no, actually Bill, when you call it Pinot Grigio, apparently it’s not nearly as sweet. Similar to one of our previous articles about Syrah v Shiraz, we find these two wines are made from the same grape but in significantly different styles.

Pinot Gris has it’s origins in Burgundy, but is now most commonly produced in Alsace, France. This area in France’s North-East borders Germany, and is one of the most beautiful wine regions of France. It is also one of the only regions in France to label wines by grape variety (i.e. you know you are buying a Pinot Gris or Gewurztraminer vs a Chateau Le BlahBlahBlah, where you really have no idea what’s in the bottle). Given the history of the region (it’s swapped hands between the Germans and French over many centuries), Alsace Pinot Gris bears the trademarks of both countries, with a slightly sweeter finish and more generous spice than Pinot Gris from other regions around the world. It will generally contain a good acidic backbone, ensuring the wine does not finish too sweet with a cloying mouthfeel (what some people refer to as fat or flabby). This acidity aids the Alsace Pinot Gris in aging for several years, compared to many New World varieties which are designed to drink young, and rarely made to enjoy a shelf life of more than 5 years.

We had difficulty finding out exactly how Pinot Gris made it’s way to Italy and renamed Pinot Grigio, but safe to say it was via some guy on a horse quite some time ago. If you (truly) know the answer, please post it to our Facebook page and we’ll sort you out with a bottle of one of our favourite Pinot Gris (assuming of course you live in Australia and we can mail it to you)…

In terms of stylistic differences however, you will notice Pinot Grigio (most commonly grown in the Lombardo Region) to be a much drier, crisper style. They will often have very little on the nose, and a ’spritzy’ mouthfeel – they can sometimes feel as though they are lightly sparkling, though this is not the case.

New Zealand Pinot Gris varies in style right across the country, and it’s fair to say no single region has truly established itself as the predominant Pinot Gris region. We see fantastic examples right across NZ from Northland to Central Otago. Stylistically, NZ leans more towards Alsace, and consequently nearly all of the wines are labelled Pinot Gris. We have only come across three wines from NZ labelled Pinot Grigio, contrasting with Australia where there is a broad mix of Grigio & Gris styles available (thanks to a significant influence from Italian winemakers in Australia over the years). NZ Pinot Gris will generally have a nose dominated by pear and honeysuckle, complemented by pineapple, apricots and hints of spice. The pear will carry through on the palate, complemented by apple, melon, peach, lychees, honey & quince. They match well with many Asian foods, but anything too spicy can overpower this wine.

As a guide to sweetness, Pinot Gris can generally be made with anything up to 20g/l residual sugar. We recommend that anything above 6g will have a noticeable sweetness on the finish (not necessarily a bad thing, particularly if well-balanced with the right amount of acid). To compare, Sauvignon Blanc will tend to have around 3g/l sugar, and we tried a sticky the other night that had 240g/l! Pinot Gris is NZ’s biggest growth variety behind Pinot Noir, and now the fourth most planted variety in the country. This reflects a global trend in drinking styles as people move away from heavier varieties (eg Chardonnay), to lighter more fragrant options.

Visit www.nzwineonline.com.au/ and spoil your self with New Zealand wine.

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