Pinot Grigio
Pinto Grigio, or Pinot Gris in French, is a medium- to light-bodied wine with hints of citrus and some residual sugar. It is versatile and pairs well with cheeses. It is made in Alsace and northern Italy where it is known as Tocai.
Pinot Grigio marries well with Asiago Fresco, Brie, Camembert, Garrotxa, Cheddar, Crottin, Feta, fresh goat's milk cheese, fresh cheeses, Mozzarella, and Ricotta.
Adelsheim Oregon Pinot Gris 2003 (Tasted in 2004) $13.75 at Austin Wine Merchant. 13.5% alcohol. This bottle was on the demo table one Saturday. It is made in the Willamette Valley. The name of the vineyard is German and means "house of nobles." This winery uses drawings of family members and friends on their labels. The drawings remind me of turn-of the-century art (Turn of the 21st Century, that is), but it is, in fact, a Japanese style of stenciling. This wine is supposed to taste like Bosc pears and spicy apples, zesty lemons, and spice (allspice and lemon zest) -- all with a rich mouthfeel. The Pinot Gris is aged in steel to preserve its freshness. Adelsheim is the third-oldest producer of Pinot Gris in the New World. It is made from a blend of grapes -- the livelier, intensely fruity grapes are grown on clay in the hills, and lush, fuller-bodied grapes turn up on the sediment in the valleys. Some of the wine was aged in neutral barrels. Other parts underwent malolactic fermentation to enhance the texture. http://www.adelsheim.com
Alois Lageder Pinot Grigio, Vigneti delle Dolomiti 2004 (Tasted in 2005) $13.75 at Austin Wine Merchant. 12.5% alcohol. Very floral nose, peachy and floral flavor. It smells like a Sauvignon Blanc, all tart. Wonderful minerality. Even with all the excitement and such a wonderful maker as Lageder, the finish falls a little flat. Then again, I am not a Pinot Grigio fan at all. This is very good. It has huge body for an Italian Pinot Grigio. I tasted it later and liked it more. The salty minerals are wonderful.
Lageder Pinot Grigio with Robiola Bosina. I am sure this won't work, but let's give it a try. Nope. I was right. It tastes like seltzer water and mold.
*Lageder Pinot Grigio with Toma Biellese. Creamy-tasting, salty, cow-y, French style Tomme. It is very yellow with a grey, dusty rind. Buttery tasting. Nice finish on both. I like how the wine is effervescent and the cheese is full and thick, but then also light since it has a little bit of an herbaceous finish. The nutty flavors really shine through in the pairing. There is some bitterness, but it's not unpleasant. I am putting a star by this not so much because it is perfect, but because it is much better than other Italian pairings with Pinot Grigio.
**Lageder Pinot Grigio with Toma Brusca. Dryer cow's milk from Piedmont. This cheese really brings out the wonderful peach and mineral flavors in the wine. It overpowers a little at the end, but that's fine. The wine doesn't have such a huge finish. I like to bring a cheese in with a Pinot Grigio so that there is something more on the end than usual. I like that they both taste refined, but also earthy. I like the chalky texture of this dry cheese versus the minerals and dry mouthfeel of the Pinot Grigio. Also nice -- both wine and cheese, though dry, are full-flavored.
Astoria Pinot Grigio, Val de Brun 2002 (Tasted in 2004). 12.5% alcohol from the Venezie. $10.79 at Grapevine. The guy at Grapevine sold me this one because he said it was supposed to not be so bland as some Pinot Grigios. It is supposed to have flavors of peach and nectarine which are balanced with piquant acidity. It is supposed to be good with filet of sole or Chilean Sea Bass, tomato, garlic, and red peppers. Fresh, fragrant, dry, and fuller-bodied. This smells like apples. It smells sweet. Patrick says it has a metallic brightness. It is a nice yellow color. It is very smooth and a little spicy. It isn't tingly like the Foffani. It is not quite as interesting, but it is more mellow. Even though it is maybe less flavorful, it also does seem warmer and pretty thick. I get a little citrus, but not as much as with the Foffani. Also not as much bitterness in the finish. It is dry, but very fruity. With this acidity, it seems like this will be a pretty good cheese wine.
Astoria with Capra goat cheese with honey from Italy. This cheese is goaty and also sweet. It is good, but it tastes more like a breakfast cheese. I tried it with the Pinot Grigio and the wine is way too tart for the cheese. It's a nice cheese and a nice wine, but no luck. I think I really need to put this wine with Caprino, but it has been out of stock. All I taste is the citrus in the wine with this cheese. I lose the cheese completely, and the honey just seems a little weird with such an acidic wine.
Astoria with Belle Chèvre goat cheese from Alabama. Very good together. The acidity in the wine, and its mildness, go well with the tangy, smooth cheese. This is a decent match. The wine overpowers the goat a little bit, but not too bad. The fruit in this wine is light enough and it has enough acidity to work with the light, fluffy goat cheese.
Astoria with Roasted Ricotta. This isn't so great. I was hoping it might work, but it's not so interesting. They neutralize each other. They are kind of dull together. I keep seeing that Ricotta is supposed to go with all these wines, and then it is just dull. On second taste, they are really ok together. They blend alright. I taste the light whey flavor in the cheese and the nice salt, and then the firm, fluffy texture, but when I have the wine with it, all the sudden it is like eating a crumbled up sponge. The good thing is the milk flavor lasts through the wine, and the salt in the cheese makes the wine taste extra sweet and fruity. I may like this after all. I would do this as a last resort at a tasting. It is a pairing that you have to really pay attention to or else you will miss its good points. It's too subtle. I think I would like Pinot Grigio better with a Cheddar.
Astoria with Smith's Extra Aged Gouda. This cheese tastes like a sharp Cheddar. It's ok with the Pinot Grigio, but a little overpowering. The cheese brings out some nice apply fruit in the wine, and I get more nuttiness in the cheese when they are together. Still, the cheese tends to burn my tongue.
Bodega J. & F. Lurton Pinot Gris 2004 (Tasted in 2004) $6.99 at Austin Wine Merchant. 13% alcohol. From Argentina in Mendoza, Valle de Uco. This vineyard is 1100 meters above sea level in the cool area of "Vista Flores." I was told that this wine was tasty and more complex -- didn't just drop off after the first sip. It has a good bit of residual sugar. Good minerality and tingly feeling. Exotic, tropical fruit on the finish.
*Lurton Pinot Gris with Asiago Fresco. Very nice together. I love the bright pineapple flavors in the wine with the fresh, light milk in the cheese. This is a great match. It tastes a little like shrimp together, how it is sweet, tart, and savory at the same time. It tastes like fried shrimp.
Lurton Pinot Gris with Fontina Val d'Aosta. This is nasty. It tastes like compost. The cheese is already fruity and stinky, but when I put this fruity wine with it, it tastes rotten.
*Lurton Pinot Gris with aged Gorgonzola. This is surprisingly good. The wine has enough sugar in it to offset the sharp blue. The cheese tastes super nutty, and it brings out a nuttiness in the wine as well. I like the sharp, spicy blue with the fruity wine.
Lurton Pinot Gris with fresh Mozzarella. Very good. The Mozzarella gets wiped out by the cheese, but it's still a good match. They blend well together and the minerality really comes out in the wine.
*Lurton Pinot Gris with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Vomit-tasting, salty, nutty cheese. This cheese makes me thirsty -- for some wine! I like these two together. Again, this match works (in my opinion) because of the nuttiness of the cheese. They pair very well together. The wine tames the cheese and takes away the vomit taste.
Italo Cescon Pinot Grigio 2004 (Tasted in 2006) $16 at Vino 100. 12% alcohol. Full-bodied, apply, Pinot Gris style Pinot Grigio. This comes from the Grave in Friuli. Good touch of minerality on the finish. This wine is especially memorable (on the shelf) for its label; it has an "antique" style label with some yellow ribbon tied around a little stick at the neck of the bottle. It reminds me of some of the cheeses from the region that come tied in raffia. Dry, tangy, ripe, summery. I can't find much information on line about this wine except for the Italian on the back of the bottle. It says that one winter day when there was not much to do, the winemakers came up with the idea of a special trellising system for the wines. Grandma Anna had kept some of the cuttings from the vineyard in her apron pocket. She went back into the house and, with the help of her son Italo, who was the winemaker, tied the shoot with a little piece of string to the neck of a bottle to show that the wine was from the fruit from that little piece of knotted wood, and was from the workings of their very hands. It was at that moment, in 1957, that the story of the "tralcetto" (little shoot), began to identify the classic production and genuineness of the wine.
Italo Cescon Pinot Grigio with Asiago. Very good. I like the Cantal with this wine better, but the body of the wine and cheese matches up best in this pairing. The Asiago, once again, brings out a lot of extra nuttiness in the pairing while allowing the apple flavors in the wine to shine through.
Italo Cescon Pinot Grigio with Cantal. Perfect! Creamy tasting, cheddary, milky, nutty cheese with a full-bodied Pinot Grigio.
Colterenzio, Schreck Bichl from the Alto Adige 2002 (Tasted in 2004) $10.79 at Central Market. 12.5% alcohol. There was another Pinot Grigio by this same winery that was about $18 that was supposed to be really good and much more complex, more layers. I got the cheap one for tasting with cheese and Italian cold cuts. This is their everyday version (and cheaper) of their other, fuller-bodied Pinot Grigio. Very clear wine. Apple aroma, bright, tarty, dry, but has a nice body. It tastes like apples, but has a bite at the end. Apples and lemons. Very refreshing.
Colterenzio with Chèvre 3 Peppercorn by Redwood Hill. This is ok together. I like the tartness of the wine and the cheese, and the fact that both have a little bit of a bitter bite on the finish. The pepper in the cheese kills the apple flavors in the wine, but it is still good together.
Foffani Azienda Agricola from Friuli, Aquileia 2002 (Tasted in 2004) 13% alcohol. I forgot to write the price down, but I think it was about $14 at Central Market. This wine is from the Northeast part of Italy towards Austria. The Azienda Agricola is run by Giovanni Foffani and Elisabetta Missoni, who make wine in Clauiano, Friuli, Italy. The winery was founded in 1789. This wine was fermented with no skins. It is a dry white wine that is good as an accompaniment to meals, especially pasta, fish, and chicken. It can mature for a couple of years. It smells like apples and pears. It smells like flowers. It is not too dry. Fuller-bodied and fragrant. It also feels tingly on the tongue and the finish is a little bitter, like kiwi or quinine. This wine is flavorful. I like this wine a lot, but it wasn't so great with cheese.
Foffani with Belle Chèvre goat cheese from Alabama. Hmmm. What to say about this? The cheese tones down the fruit in the wine and also makes it feel dry. They make a little bitterness, but no worse, really, than the wine on its own. This cheese is too mild for the wine. They go well together, almost like a Sauvignon Blanc and a chèvre, but I really think that the best choice would be a harder goat cheese like Garrotxa, except that is from Spain. I am looking for Italian pairings. I would like to try the Italian Caprino (chèvre type, but with less tartness) with this wine. Caprino has been out of stock.
Foffani with Cravanzina. It was good for a second, but then I really hated the bitter, mushroomy rind with the bitterness of the wine. It clashed. This cheese is creamy and tangy, with a nice lightly moldy rind. It has a great consistency. This wine is too fruity for this cheese. Maybe it is also too dry. It is too bitter on the finish for the cheese. The cheese, although light and fresh, also smells, and I think that doesn't work with the fragrant wine. The creaminess of the cheese takes away from the tingle of the wine.
Foffani with Parmigiano-Reggiano. This is ok together. I kind of like it. I am surprised. After the Piave seemed too much for the wine, I surely thought the Parmigiano-Reggiano would overpower it. Maybe it doesn't because the cheese is so dry. It is not perfect, but I like the crunchy crystals with the thickish wine. The cheese makes the wine taste dry. I think I like it for the combination of dryness. This cheese makes the wine taste really dry. This isn't my ideal pairing, but I would do it if I had to.
Foffani with Pecorino Romano.I don't like this. It's not the end of the world, but it's just gross. Actually, I'm starting to warm up to this pairing, but that may be because I have been drinking a lot of wine. I think I do like these dry, flaky cheeses with this dry wine. The sharp, vomity aftertaste of the cheese is a little much for the wine, but it meshes well with the wine's bitterness.
Foffani with Piave. This is ok. The pairing brings out a very warm, nutty flavor. It actually burns. I think that is the alcohol. The cheese overpowers the wine a little. The cheese is very woody and savory. I feel like this wine is too cold-climate for it, even though the cheese is northern, too, and the body of the wine is sturdy. They weren't awful, but really didn't compliment each other enough.
Foffani with Provolone, aged. Even though this cheese is aged, it is still pretty mild and tangy, but with the wine, it tastes way too rustic. It tastes like fish together. With some of the heavier red wines, I was having trouble because they drowned this mild cheese out. First it is kind of boring, and then unpleasant.
Foffani with Roasted Ricotta. This is not so bad together, but not great really. This cheese is a whey cheese, so it is light, crumbly, and salty. It is a sheep's milk cheese, but doesn't have to strong of a sheep flavor. These are alright, but the wine, with all its fruit and aroma, really overpowers this light cheese. I feel like I might as well be eating a handful of flour. This cheese is too delicate for the wine, even with its saltiness.
Lagaria 2002 (Tasted in 2004) $8.99 at Tuscany Market. 12% alcohol. From the Venezie in the northeastern corner of Italy. This was the cheapest Pinot Grigio they had and it was also the last one of its kind, so I figured it might be popular. On the label, there is an abstract watercolor of what seems to be possibly a still life of some food on a table. On the label, it claims to have fresh, soft, and mild aromatic flavors. The northeastern region of Italy has ideal sunshine and hillside vineyards with perfect exposure. Versatile, delicately perfumed and well-structured. Good with fish and white meat or as a refreshing aperitif. Lively with fruit that jumps out at you -- look for citrus and green apple. Bright, forward, tart wine. Floral. Definitely apples and flowers. It is like a pasture in the springtime. It is kind of tart and bitter. I like it, but Pinot Grigio is never my favorite wine.
Lagaria with Caprino. Fresh Italian goat's milk. Nice together, though the floral components in the wine overpower the cheese somewhat. Bitter together at the end. I lose the cheese's sweetness and creaminess. It is not exciting together like a Sancerre and French goat cheese. The floral flavors in the wine are prominent in this pairing.
Lagaria with Mahon. Lemony, cow's milk cheese from Spain. Interesting, but the wine makes the cheese taste like rubber. I taste a lot of lemons and nuts in this pairing. Bitter finish, I guess because the wine is a little bitter. The cheese makes the wine taste thin. I don't taste the flowers anymore. I think this cheese, although it is somewhat light, may be too full-bodied for this wine.
Lagaria with Robiola Bosina. Creamy, lactic, fresh cow and sheep blend from Italy. This was the absolute worst! It tastes like rotten fruit (like when you are eating a sweet potato and you hit a rotten spot) and paint thinner.
Messina Hof Pinot Grigio Reserve 2003 (Tasted in 2005) $9.29 at Grapevine Market. 13% alcohol. This wine is marketed as a dry white wine, crisp and clean, that "makes any day a burst of spring." It brags of floral and citrus aromas and should go with light cheese, fish, poultry, alfredo, and lemony sauces. It won a Gold Medal at the Houston Wine Food Festival. The label has some cherubs in the middle of wine leaves and grapes. http://www.messinahof.com For sale in Texas only. It is a light yellow color, almost the shade of this web page background. I do smell citrus and floral. It tastes nice. There is a light vanilla finish that mellows everything out. Acidic, a little bitter, citrusy, and bright. The finish is really what is bitter, and then it's like a cloud of vanilla forms, like lemon custard. Overall, though, it is not sweet and not boring.
Messina Hof Pinot Grigio with Blanca Bianca from Dallas. Unpasteurized cow's milk cheese. Crazy and Camembert-tasting. It is sharp, woody, and wild. I can tell right now that this is going to kill the wine. It's not as bad as I expected, but not so great. No, I take that back. It is bitter and metallic together. This wine is way too light and too acidic for this strong cheese.
*Messina Hof Pinot Grigio with Caciotta from Dallas. This is a cow's milk cheese that comes in wax. Very buttery cheese, but with some bitterness. The bitterness comes out in the wine with this cheese, and then something tastes a little like fish, but overall, it's not so bad. I mean, I have to find some pairings that are reasonably acceptable from Texas and this might work. This cheese also has a floral flavor. Together, they bring out an intense lemon flavor. It's interesting.
Messina Hof Pinot Grigio with Chile Caciotta from Dallas. Goat's milk cheese with ancho chiles. Boy was this awful together! The guy at the store said that it might go, the crisp, cool, floral Pinot Grigio with all the wild peppers, but these peppers are crazy and, again, it all tastes bitter and out of control.
*Messina Hof Pinot Grigio with Kutter's 3 yr Cheddar. From New York near Buffalo. Surely this TX wine won't like a yankee wine. Oh no, this is great!!! I like it a lot with the sharp taste in the cheese. It brings out a lot of nutty flavors in the cheese and the salty cheese makes the wine so bright and happy.
Nautilus Marlborough Pinot Gris 2003 (Tasted in 2004). $18.75 at Austin Wine Merchant. It has a picture of a shell on the front. 14% alcohol. This wine is from New Zealand, Marlborough region. The grapes are hand picked and pressed together in the whole bunch. Slow, cool fermentation. The wine was aged on yeast lees for three months to add complexity of aroma and flavor. It is supposed to have an aromatic bouquet and be bodied on the palate. The label says that Pinot Gris is associated with a full-bodied palate. I would like to try this with some Basque cheese, goat cheese with a little pepper, and maybe a sharp Cheddar. It is also supposed to go well with spicy food, like Asian food. It is supposed to be dryer and less fruity and floral than the Italian Pinot Grigios, but should also have good character. It smells a little floral and tastes a little vanilla. It tastes like citrus and tropical, like maybe some vanilla. Steve says that it doesn't taste like vanilla to him, and not so much floral. It has a bitter finish. It reminds me of a Burgundy Chardonnay or a Sémillon.
*Nautilus Marlborough Pinot Gris with Irish Dubliner Cheddar. Patrick thinks this cheese tastes like peanut butter. This time, the cheese is more vegetal, herbaceous. Steve says it maybe tastes like spinach or bell peppers. I love these two together. The wine tastes very bright and fruity with the cheese, and it also brings out the sharpness in the cheese. I like the vegetal flavors in the two. The cheese and the wine taste very outdoorsy together.
Ponzi Pinot Gris from Oregon 2002 (Tasted in 2004). $14.79 at Grapevine. It is from Willamette County. It is a light yellow, clear color. It smells like a Sauvignon Blanc, like grapefruit. Pear, honey, and citrus. I taste apples and pears, but not as much as I do citrus. The finish is a little bitter. Tingly and ripe on the finish. It is like when fruit has gone bad and gotten bitter. It also tastes a little sweet. Geoff brought this wine.
Ponzi, Pinot Gris with 4 year Gouda. The cheese is salty, crunchy, nutty, and butterscotchy. It melts in your mouth. It's ok together, but it gets bitter and the cheese is too strong for the wine. I lose the nice fruit in the wine.
Ponzi, Pinot Gris with Quebec Cheddar. Very good. They don't do a lot for each other's flavors, but they blend well. They taste very fresh. This Pinot Gris has enough body to work ok with the Cheddar.
Santa Margherita Valdadige Pinot Grigio 2003 (Tasted in 2005) This was a gift, so I don't know how much it cost. 12% alcohol. Warm yellow color, good, medium-full body, bitterness towards the finish, and then tropical fruit and a trail of dryness. The label says that the grapes for this wine come from the district that produces the highest quality Pinot Grigio -- the AltoAdige/Valdadige. This wine is said to be dry, fruity, complex and well-balanced. It's nice. It has enough flavor to be interesting, unlike so many Pinot Grigios.
Santa Margherita with Crottin de Chavignol. Why not? It was in my fridge and sometimes I can do Pinot Grigio with goat cheese. Not so great, but not the worst in the world. It works ok, though I wouldn't pair it up at a party.
Santa Margherita with Irish Dubliner. I thought this might work out, but it ended up tasting like fish together. This cheese has gone well with an Argentinian Pinot Gris before.
Santa Margherita with Gorgonzola, aged. Salty, nutty, earthy cheese. I doubt this will work. No, it doesn't. It tastes like mustard together.
Santa Margherita with La Tur. This cheese is so sour. It's kind of interesting together, but the cheese overpowers the wine.
Sot Lis Rivis Pinot Grigio, Ronco del Gelso 2000 (Tasted in 2005) On sale for $19.99 at Grapevine Market. From Isonzo del Friuli. The sign said that it was usually $31.99. 13% alcohol. It is a full yellow lemon color and has a lot of sediment or crystals in the bottom. Floral, smoky, green apples, and some tropical fruit. Bitterness on the finish. I am not so wild about Pinot Grigio, but I really like this. Very smoky. It also has some vanilla flavor. Maybe it is oaked. Yes, I looked online and it is "cask conditioned." Very concentrated wine with rich, fruity aromas, fresh and ripe fruit flavors, good acidity, and a complex structure. It reminds me of a Viognier. The Isonzo del Friuli is a zone in the eastern part of Friuli, directly south of Collio. Isonzo is closer to the sea, so there is more rainfall. From near the Isonzo river. The best Isozno whites are Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malvasia, Tocai Friulano, and Pinot Bianco.
Sot Lis Rivis with Caprino. I bought this wine hoping it would match the cheese. The cheese was too tart. It may have just been something different in the cheese, but it didn't go well. It was bitter. It wasn't too bad, but they didn't do anything for each other. The wine made the cheese taste like vinegar.
*Sot Lis Rivis with Comté. French Gruyère. This cheese is nutty and almost chocolatey at times, though very mild. It blends nicely with the full, rich fruit flavors of the wine and also brings out very tart fruit in the wine. The cheese is mild, but has enough structure to stand up to the bold flavors in the wine. It makes the wine taste especially bright and happy.
Sot Lis Rivis with Fleur Verte. Fresh French goat cheese with mixed herbs. Very good, but again, a little bitter like the other goat cheese. The herbs are nice with the wine and somehow seem to tame the wine. What I don't like is the herb flavors come out, but I lose some of the interesting fruit in the wine. The acidities are nice together.
Villa Vitale Pinot Grigio delle Venezie 2003 (Tasted in 2005) $7.99 at World Market. 12.5% alcohol. The World Market description reads: "Fans of crisp, refreshing white wine that's easy on the palate and big on flavor should definitely try Villa Vitale's Fantastic Pinot Grigio. Soft citrus flavors mingle with the more exotic nuances of almonds and tropical melon. It's happy with pesto, poolside parties, and a post-work thirst." This is definitely a lighter style of Pinot Grigio. I tend to like a fuller body with more acidity, but for casual drinking and pairing with hot, spicy Texas foods, this works great. It has a honeydew melon nose and a faint floral aroma that comes out on the mid-palate. Tart, light, fresh.
Villa Vitale with cream cheese and Cutter Dan's Peach n' Pecan Chipotle sauce. This was a great match-up. The wine is tart and bright, very slightly nutty, and went well with the sweet, tangy peaches, jalapeno peppers, light cheese, and pecans. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this wine could handle hot sauce because so many can't, especially wines with low residual sugar.
Villa Vitale with Fleur Verte. French goat cheese coated in herbs. The fresh, tangy goat cheese went well with the Pinto Grigio, but if I ate any of the herb-coating with the wine, it turned too bitter in my mouth.