Pinot Grigio is one of the most interesting grape varieties on the world wine scene.
It was born in France in a territory, Burgundy, which together with that of Alsace and Champagne, has the best geoclimatic conditions for the cultivation of these grapes.
Its history is over a hundred years old and an aristocratic descent as it comes from the gemmary mutation of the noble Pinot Noir , one of the best known and most widespread red berried grapes in the world, whose lineage has also continued with Pinot Blanc and Pinot Meunier .
Origins
The existence of this blend is confirmed by historical documents of 1375, while in Italy it had to wait until the end of the 1800s, before seeing it set in the northern areas of our country, such as Trentino Alto-Adige, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia from which was generated the DOC “Pinot grigio delle Venezie”.
The vine reached excellent quality and excellent production increases and then decreased probably due to the precocity of the blend and the low yields. It does not like sudden changes in temperature and prefers cold, stable climates and soils suitable for its continuous requests for attention, both in cultivation and in production in the cellar.
As a demanding vine that it is, it did not make life easy for the growers who welcomed it outside its environment of birth, with demanding and unrewarding harvests, so much so that only after years of research and several attempts, they achieved the first satisfactory results.
It is a gray grape variety, registered in 1970 in the National Catalog of vine varieties, and with more than 30,000 hectares cultivated, it is the most developed international grape variety in Italy, which in the 2000s reached extraordinary production levels in terms of quality and quantity with huge consensus from consumers. Unfortunately, a reversal of trend has occurred in recent years which has led Italian production more and more towards the foreign market, such as China, Japan, England and America.
Characteristics of the vine
Pinot grigio has completely different characteristics depending on the vinification, to the point of differentiating itself into two distinct types that may not even seem “consanguineous”.
With the white vinification , elegant wines are obtained with a beautiful color ranging from greenish yellow to straw yellow, up to golden, with the typical hints of peach, pear, citrus, apricot, acacia, honey, sometimes even delicately smoked.
Instead, by making wine with a long maceration of the grapes, less refined wines are obtained, with the typical coppery color, sometimes almost orange tending to rosé, such as Orange wines , whose scents are somewhat reminiscent of those of red wines. In these cases there will be a marked acidity, mineral and decisive notes, spicy, balsamic, with hints of dried fruit and honey.
These two types of vinification are not comparable nor do you want to put them in competition, being able to prefer them only on the basis of your personal taste.
See all Pinot Grigio wines .
