Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio Trendy?

Filed in archive New Zealand Wines on January 17, 2007

Fickle white wine drinker that I am, I do have to confess a leaning towards pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio.

I didn't even know it, but I happen to be part of a new trend that is taking place, at least in New Zealand:

And then there's pinot gris and pinot grigio.

Today, the little grape with the interesting dual personality is nipping at the heels of the uber-trendy New Zealand sauvignon blanc and rose in popularity, but no maker or marketer wanted to know about it 10, 20 years ago. Even five years back there was widespread ambivalence.

"Making pinot grigio is like trying to paint with just the colour white," said a winemaker at the time.

Boring, bland, one-dimensional, simple - there wasn't enough scorn in the dictionary to describe the super-dry Italian-style pinot grigio.

And if pinot grigio was white paint, its alter ego, the Alsatian-style pinot gris, was only a tad more interesting - white wallpaper with a cream trim perhaps.

So what happened?

It would appear that the little grape simply spoke to the consumer in a charming, non-threatening manner with subtle fruit qualities. The market loved it and now wine producers (who have been planting pinot gris from Queensland to Tasmania) love the fact that the market loves it - even if few saw it coming.
Read more: Shades of gris