Pinot Gris: Back to Winemaking – Back to Grapes – Back to Countries
Top thirteen grapes:
Reds – Cabernet Franc – Cabernet Sauvignon – Malbec – Merlot –
Whites – Chardonnay – Gewürztraminer – Muscat –
Pinot blanc – Pinot gris – Riesling – Sauvignon blanc
Next twenty-five grapes:
Reds – Barbera – Carignan – Gamay – Grenache – Mourvèdre – Petit Verdot –
Sangiovese – Tannat – Tempranillo – Touriga Nacional – Zweigelt
Whites – Albariño – Aligoté – Arinto – Chenin blanc – Malvasia –
Müller-Thurgau – Muscat-Ottonel – Sémillon – Tămâioasă Românească –
Traminer – Ugni-blanc – Viognier – Welschriesling
– and Cava
| Pinot gris literally means grey pine referencing its cone-shaped clusters.. From the Burgundy region since the Middle Ages, originally it was called Fromenteau. It had reached Switzerland by 1300, along with Pinot noir. Emperor Charles IV (1316-1378), the Holy Roman Emperor, had cuttings exported to Hungary by Cistercian monks who planted the vines on the slopes bordering Hungary’s Lake Balaton in 1375. In 1711, a German merchant discovered a grape growing wild in the fields of the Palatinate. The wine he produced became known as Ruländer, later discovered to be Pinot gris. Until the 18th and 19th centuries, the grape was planted in Burgundy and Champagne, but poor yields and crops saw it decline. In the mid Noughties the grape as Pinot grigio became very popular.  Image source: londoncru.co.uk Most closely associated with Alsace France (as Pinot gris), in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto areas of Italy (as Pinot grigio), Pfalz area of Germany (as Grauburgunder or occasionally Ruländerand), and in the Marlborough and Hawkes Bay regions of New Zealand. In Alsace it is considered one of the region’s ‘noble’ white wine grapes. There are two sorts of Pinot Gris, the Petits Grains variety produces smaller yields, and creates richer. more powerful, wines. |
 Image: halleckvineyard.com Taste/smell: It has an aroma of black and red cherry, raspberry and strawberry currant and other berry fruits. As it ages the smell becomes more ‘gamey’ and ‘barnyard’. It is also described as tasting of hibiscus, mushroom, tea leaves, vanilla and violets. Prominent Pinot Noir wines? Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits-Saint-Georges Varieties/Mutations: Pinot noir can be particularly prone to mutation, as a result of its longevity there are hundreds of clones in vineyards and vine collections worldwide. Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris are both colour mutations of Pinot Noir. It has over 1,000 registered clones, a testament to its genetic instability and constant evolution. | Description: Image source: www.plantgrape.fr Pinot gris grape clusters are reminiscent of a pine cone. Pinot gris is similar to Pinot noir (above) though it produces white and some pink wine. The white wines vary from a golden yellow to copper. A thin-skinned grape variety, with a moderate to high level of acidity, a low to moderate level of soft tannins. The berries are grey, but at maturity, they take on a rose colour.  Image source: www.plantgrape.fr Its young leaves are green or yellow, and the tips of its young shoots have a moderate to dense cover of flat-lying hairs. Its adult leaves are dark to very dark green. They have three or five lobes, with a petiolar sinus that is only slightly open or even closed. |
| Pinot gris producing countries: Key regions are France, Chile, Romania, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Bulgaria, and the US states of California, Oregon and Washington… Big Five Producers: (overall 42% of vineyards, 64% of wine production and 41% of wine consumption – OIV 2022) Spain: Navarre. France: Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne, Loire and Savoie. Italy: Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia , Molise, Oltrepò Pavese, Roverè della Luna, Sicily, Trentino and Veneto. USA: Arizona, California, Idaho, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington. Chile: Maipo Valley Next Ten Largest Producers: (with big five, responsible overall for 75% of vineyards, 88% of wine production, 64% of wine consumption – OIV 2022) Argentina: Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Patagonia and San Juan. Australia: Tasmania and Victoria. China: none detected. Germany: Baden, Hessische, Nahe, Palatinate, Pfalz, Rheinhessen and Sachsen. India none detected. New Zealand: North Canterbury, Central Otago, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, North Canterbury, Northland, Waipara, Wairarapa and Waikato. Portugal: none detected. Romania: Banat, Crisana, Danube, Dobruja and Transylvania South Africa: Cape Winelands. Turkey: Aegean and Marmara. Others countries growing Pinot gris: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Japan, Luxembourg, Moldova, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, UK, Ukraine | Grape is also known as: Affume, Anche Cendree, Arnaison gris, Aserat, Auvergne gris, Auvernas gris, Auvernat gris, Auvernet, Auxerrat, Auxerrois gris, Auxois, Baratszinszoeloe, Bayonner, Beurot, Biliboner, Borgogna grigio, Burgundac Sivi, Burgunder Roter, Burgundske Sede, Burgundske Sive, Burot, Casper, Champagner, Claevner Roth, Cordonnier gris, Crvena Klevanjka, Drusen, Drusent, Druser, Edelklevner, Enfume, Faultraube, Fauvet, Fromenteau gris, Fromentot, Grau Clevnet, Grauburgunder, Grauer Burgunder, Grauer Moench, Grauklaeber, Grauklevner, Gris Commun, Gris Cordelier, Griset, Hamsas Szoello, Hamuszoeloe, Kapuzinerkutten, Klevanjka, Klevanjka Crvena, Levrant, Levraut, Malvasier grau, Malvoisie, Mauserl, Mausfarbe, Moreote gris, Murys, Muscade, Musler, Noirin gris, Ouche, Petit gris, Pineau Cendree, Pineau gris, Pinot Beurot, Pinot Cendre, Pinot Franc gris, Pinot grigio, Pinot Seryi, Piros Kisburgundi, Pirosburgundi, Pyzhik, Rauchler, Raulander, Rehfahl, Reilander, Reloender, Rheingrau, Rheintraube, Riesling grau, Rohlander, Rollander, Roloender Drusen, Rother Clewner, Rouci Sedive, Ruhlandi, Ruländer, Ruländer Sivi, Ryjik, Ryzik, Savoyertraube grau, Savoyertraube roth, Schieler, Sivi Pinot, Speyerer, Spinovy Hrozen, Stahler, Strahler, Szuerke Kisburgundi, Szuerke Klevner, Szürkebarát (meaning grey monk), Tokay, Tokay d’ Alsace, Tokayer, Valais, Wiliboner, Zelenak |
Image source: winefolly.com
Pinot Gris: Back to Winemaking – Back to Grapes – Back to Countries
Top thirteen grapes:
Reds – Cabernet Franc – Cabernet Sauvignon – Malbec – Merlot –
Whites – Chardonnay – Gewürztraminer – Muscat –
Pinot blanc – Pinot gris – Riesling – Sauvignon blanc
Next twenty-five grapes:
Reds – Barbera – Carignan – Gamay – Grenache – Mourvèdre – Petit Verdot –
Sangiovese – Tannat – Tempranillo – Touriga Nacional – Zweigelt
Whites – Albariño – Aligoté – Arinto – Chenin blanc – Malvasia –
Müller-Thurgau – Muscat-Ottonel – Sémillon – Tămâioasă Românească –
Traminer – Ugni-blanc – Viognier – Welschriesling
– and Cava
