Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio

For such a simple white wine, things sure can get complicated when you look at the genetics involved.  We've posted many times about the unstable genome of the pinot grape that seemingly mutates at will.  Pinot Gris/Grigio are the French and Italian names meaning grey pinot, one of six distinct pinot varieties, but like we said, it gets complicated.  On a single pinot grapevine, bunches may vary in color due to ongoing mutations.  Ramato Pinot Grigio, the quintessential orange wine of history, is a classic example of this.  It is a naturally copper colored grape that occurs randomly.

To tell you how screwed up the pinot family is, there is very little difference between most members of the family.  Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio are very much the same genetically.  Any significant differences existing now stem from centuries ago when a mutation took place in a vineyard somewhere resulting in the change.  That happened over and over again until there are now six distinct pinot varieties.

Today in popular wine culture Pinot Gris is the term for a drier more robust wine style while Pinot Grigio is used for a lighter fruitier simpler version.  But even that isn't clear.  There is overlap in terminology.  Fruitiness used to be a grigio term, as in Italian-style fruitiness.  Now new world gris has obvious new world fruitiness.  Oiliness used to be synonymous with the Alsatian Pinot Gris style but darned if I don't get that in some Italians.  It gets downright complicated.

So we started this post because we got in Kind Stranger Pinot Gris from Washington State and it is a delightful example of new world winemaking.  The back label says "sun-drenched pears and citrus fruit" and that really nails it.  It's a special wine that captures the best of both worlds.  It has the fruitiness of a Grigio summer quaff but also has the body and oiliness of an Alsatian Gris.