May 17th
Pinot Grigio Day!
Today is the day to celebrate Pinot Grigio!
This refreshing white wine hails from Northern Italy!
You will easily find a bottle of this wine (unlike Ezerjo whose wine holiday was yesterday).
Pinot Grigio is always on the shelf. It, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are by far the most widely distributed white wines on the market!
How the Pinot Grigio Day came about!
Cavit Winery in Trentino in Northern Italy was established this holiday in 2017.
Cavit was a pioneer in bringing Pinot Grigio to America in the 1970s. They are considered America’s #1 Italian Wine. The winery is devoted to Eco-Friendly practices.
Think of them as the gateway wine, and be sure to explore beyond.
There are amazing Pinot Grigios being made throughout this region of Italy!
Pinot Grigio by another name…
Pinot Grigio, is the same grape as Pinot Gris in France (and Grauburgunder in Germany).
Grigio (or Gris) both mean “Grey,” and the color of the grape has a greyish tint.
In Italy, Pinot Grigio is grown in the Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige, known as the Delle Venezie in northeast Italy. This wine is made in a fresh unoaked style that is popular with wine lovers. It goes well with seafood (being near Venice).
What is Pinot Grigio?
That’s a good question. Pinot Grigio is a mutation of Pinot Noir.
There are in fact 3 mutations:
Pinot Noir – which is a red grape
Pinot Blanc – which is a white grape
and
Pinot Grigio (or Pinot Gris) – which is considered a “grey” grape. It’s not really grey, it gets a dusky pink color, halfway between Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir in color.
What does it taste like? What to pair with it?
Pinot Grigio tends to be bright and refreshing with tart notes of lemon, lime, apple, and pear and leans to dry or semi-sweet.
Pinot Grigio has flavors of Pinot Grigio is perfect for enjoying seafood on the Coast of the Veneto, perhaps in Venice. It also goes beautifully with the Cecchetti of the region (kind of an Italian version of Tapas).
(You can read more about that here)
DOC Delle Venezie
The DOC Delle Venezie is a DOC for Pinot Grigio in North East Italy. It was founded in 2017 and spans the regions of Veneto, Friuli Venezia-Giulia, and Trentino Alto-Adige, covering 20 of the historic Pinot Grigio DOCs.
This Consorzio assures the quality of Pinot Grigio from this large region. This Appellation is pushing for innovation, technology and sustainability for the wineries of the region.
This area, the “Triveneto,” has been home to winegrowing since between the 7th and 5th century BC. In the 1300s, Venice dominated trade, and the wines of this region made their way into the wider world.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
Check out our book series, “Tempting Spoonfuls” available through Amazon!
Inspired by the flavors and aromas in wines, these books create “tempting spoonfuls” of flavors to pair with wines.
“Tempting Spoonfuls – Pairing single bites with glorious wines” – Our first book paired wines from boutique wineries on the west coast, in California, Oregon, and Washington, with delicious spoonfuls.
This book is 60 pages, 18 recipes, lots of beautiful photos, and insights into some fantastic small wineries!
“Tempting Spoonfuls – small bites paired with wines from around the Globe” – This book takes us around the globe to explore 12 wine regions, a wine from the region, and then gives you a recipe for a pairing!
A slightly larger book at 104 pages, this time you learn about pairing with a type of wine from a region. Rather than a specific bottle, you can look for a style of wine from a region and feel confident that it will go well with the recipe pairing we provide. We give you 12 recipes, each to pair with a wine.
The goal is to make your mouth water and encourage you to create your own “Tempting Spoonfuls.”
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