One of the elements of wine we don’t talk about with the High Five Wine Scoring System is the colour. For all intents and purposes, the scoring system is meant to simplify how we taste our wine and we really don’t need to assess colour to figure out if the sensations or flavours we’re experiencing are pleasant or not. Right?
Having said that, there are some wines that are just so pretty. Pinot Gris is one of them. The grape skins are a pinkish-gray colour (sometimes they can also be a blue-ish-gray) and if left in contact with the juice after pressing the grapes it can impart this playful pinkish tone to the wine. Lovely.
The other lovely thing about Pinot Gris is it is widely available. Some of the grape varietals we will discuss can be trickier to find, but Pinot Gris is grown all over the world.
So how do you choose the right Pinot Gris for you? Let’s start with the differences we might see.
New World Pinot Gris wines can be rich, creamy, fruity and even a little tropical.
Old World Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio can be lighter, more refreshing, bright and citrusy.
What can we tell by those descriptions?
New World
Rich: this could mean a little more medium-bodied with bolder flavours.
Creamy: this could be referring to the weight of the wine or the sweetness and alcohol. Both sweetness and alcohol can increase the viscosity or mouthfeel of a wine creating that creamy-like texture.
Tropical Fruit: this can sometimes trip people up in a moment. Think pineapple, mango and guava, for example.
New World Examples
California
Washington
Oregon
Okanagan
Chile
Argentina
Australia
New Zealand
Old World
Lighter: Crisper wines with a light-bodied mouthfeel.
Refreshing: Citrus notes, bright acidity, thirst-quenching. Old World Examples
Italy (Pinot Grigio)
Alsace, France
Germany (Grauburgunder)
Spain
Some of your baseline aromas for Pinot Gris can be things like
- Peach
- Nectarine
- Green Apple
- Pear
- Lemon
- Lime
- Wet Stone
- Honey
- Almond
- Spice
Other names for Pinot Gris
- Pinot Grigio
- Grauburgunder
Now get out there are give these wines a try, score them using your copy of the High Five Wine Scoring System and let us know about them in our online Facebook community!
Happy Scoring, High Fivers!
xo
Tonia
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