For such a well-known grape, pinot grigio is definitely fairly difficult. On one hand, in Northern Italy it may well make oceans of easy, gluggable wine, excellent for ingesting good and chilly when the solar comes out. Also referred to as pinot gris when grown in Alsace, it makes a number of the richest, headiest wines in France. Plus, as a result of the pores and skin of pinot grigio grapes have a pinkish tinge, you possibly can even make rosé out of it.
Like pinot blanc, pinot grigio is a mutation of pinot noir and it’s initially from Burgundy. In Germany it’s generally known as grauburgunder – gray Burgundian. It additionally makes extremely distinctive wines in Austria, New Zealand, Romania, Hungary and there are some more and more attention-grabbing home-grown ones too.
So whether or not you need a easy wine for ingesting within the sunshine, or one thing fancy for an important day, listed here are ten pinot grigio bottles that present what a wondrously versatile grape it’s.
These bottles have been style examined by wine author Henry Jeffreys. Henry is a drinks and wine author who writes for Grasp of Malt, and his work has appeared within the The Guardian, The Spectator and The Monetary Occasions. In 2022, he received Greatest Drink Author of the Yr within the Fortnum & Mason Meals & Drink Awards, having beforehand received the Greatest Debut Drink E-book in 2017 for He’s the creator of Empire of Booze: British Historical past via the Backside of a Glass. He’s beforehand written drinks guides for BBC Good Meals, together with overlaying all types of fizz – from the greatest cava and greatest English glowing wines to discovering the very best champagne. For extra, go to our critiques part and discover over 200 sensible purchaser’s guides, style assessments of gin, vodka and extra.
Greatest pinot grigio at a look
- Greatest funds pinot grigio: Specifically Chosen Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie 2021, £5.49
- Greatest pinot grigio for events: Sorcova pinot grigio 2021, £7.99
- Greatest with spicy meals: Morrisons The Greatest pinot gris 2020, £8.95
- Greatest English pinot gris: Bolney Property pinot gris 2020, £19.99
- Greatest with seafood: Castello Banfi San Angelo pinot grigio 2021, £18.95
- Greatest german wine: Weingut Jülg Kalkmergel grauburgunder trocken 2019, £12.50
- Greatest Italian pinot grigio: Puiattino pinot grigio 2020, £10
- Greatest Alsace pinot gris: Léon Beyer Réserve Personnelle pinot gris 2017 , £18.95
- Greatest New Zealand pinot gris: Rod Easthope Hawke’s Bay pinot gris 2021, £13.99
- Greatest pinot gris rosé : Gerard Cordier Reuilly pinot gris rosé 2021, £15.50
Greatest pinot grigio 2022
Specifically Chosen Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie 2021
Greatest funds pinot grigio
Star ranking: 3/4
ABV: 13%
Completely extraordinary worth right here. I don’t know how Aldi does it for the worth. This isn’t a wishy-washy pinot grigio. There’s rose petal and ginger, with inexperienced apple, apricot and a contact of bitter orange peel. It ought to be accessible in retailer even when it is offered out on-line. Purchase all you possibly can!
Obtainable from:
Aldi (£5.49)
Sorcova pinot grigio 2021
Greatest pinot grigio for events
Star ranking: 3/5
ABV: 12%
Pinot grigio has discovered a house from house in Romania. That is made by one of many nation’s largest high quality producers Cramele Recaș, and so they have actually introduced out the floral fragrant facet to the grape. That is contemporary, scrumptious and inconceivable to dislike – particularly at beneath £8.
Obtainable from:
Waitrose (£7.99)
Morrisons The Greatest pinot gris 2020
Greatest with spicy meals
Star ranking: 3/5
ABV: 13.5%
The little little bit of sweetness in most Alsatian pinot gris makes it an ideal foil to spicy meals resembling Thai inexperienced curries or Szechuan delicacies. Made by Cave de Turckheim, among the finest co-ops within the area, that is exploding with rose petals, peaches and pears, all mixed with an off-dry fruitiness.
Obtainable from:
Bolney Property pinot gris 2020
Greatest English pinot gris
Star ranking: 4/5
ABV: 12.5%
Made by one of many stalwarts of English wine, Bolney Property in Sussex, this has numerous spice on the nostril with a tangy palate like biting into an ideal Cox’s apple. There’s no scarcity of flavour right here and this wine exhibits that there’s enormous potential for this grape in England.
Obtainable from:
Castello Banfi San Angelo pinot grigio 2021
Greatest with seafood
Star ranking: 4/5
ABV: 12.5%
This comes from Tuscany and it’s a fairly refined wine. On the nostril it’s peachy after which on the palate there’s pepper, apple and stone fruit with a creamy end. It’s a kind of wines that will get extra attention-grabbing with every sip, and can be nice with spaghetti alle vongole.
Obtainable from:
Weingut Jülg Kalkmergel grauburgunder trocken 2019
Greatest german wine
Star ranking: 5/5
ABV: 13.5%
‘Trocken’ means dry in German. This scrumptious wine has a number of the richness of Alsace with a full texture and opulent apricot fruit, however combines this with the dryness of Northern Italy. Not simply my favorite German wine within the line-up, however in all probability my favorite general.
Obtainable from:
Wine Society (£12.50)
Puiattino pinot grigio 2020
Greatest Italian pinot grigio
Star ranking: 4/5
ABV: 12.5%
From Friuli in Northern Italy, this exhibits that the Italians can do hedonistic pinot grigio, too. It’s only a joyous wine to swill round your mouth, with its spherical creamy texture and citrus fruit bitterness. Tastes far more costly than £10.
Obtainable from:
Léon Beyer Réserve Personnelle pinot gris 2017
Greatest Alsace pinot gris
Star ranking: 5/5
ABV: 13.5%
Now it is a critical wine. Take a sniff and there’s honey and spice with a contact of lemon. On the palate, it’s dry initially with an appley freshness, after which fills out with almonds and spicy notes like rye bread. A shocking wine that requires some suitably wealthy meals to pair with it.
Obtainable from:
Yapp Brothers (£18.95)
Rod Easthope Hawke’s Bay pinot gris 2021
Greatest New Zealand pinot gris
Star ranking: 4/5
ABV:13.5%
Pinot gris from New Zealand is usually made in an off-dry fashion, like this wine, with a nod to Alsace. Right here the little little bit of sweetness and floral facet is superbly balanced by a racy orchard fruit acidity. As typical with Bare Wines, it’s less expensive for those who enroll as an ‘angel’.
Obtainable from:
Bare Wines (£13.99)
Gerard Cordier Reuilly pinot gris rosé 2021
Greatest pinot gris rosé
Star ranking: 4/5
ABV: 13.5%
French pinot gris isn’t simply confined to Alsace. Within the Loire, it’s typically used to make a scrumptious rosé generally known as a vin gris by giving the wine some pores and skin contact. The end result – as seen right here – is sort of a cross between a white and a rosé with notes of brown apple and a beautiful creamy texture.
Obtainable from:
What makes an excellent pinot grigio
Whether or not it’s made dry like in Italy, or off-dry like in Alsace and New Zealand, good pinot grigio ought to have a sure spiciness to it, combining with stone or orchard fruit, a bit honey, and typically rose petal notes.
How we examined pinot grigio
Our wine knowledgeable Henry Jeffreys examined a broad vary of pinot grigio to seek out the very best choice. Every bottle was individually sampled, exploring the completely different aromas. We aimed to cowl quite a lot of pinot grigio types, together with rosé. Good pinot grigio ought to have spiciness, loads of fruit (this may fluctuate from apple to citrus or apricots, relying on fashion), and even potential rose petal notes.
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