Details
Winemaker’s Notes~
Our estate grown Pinot grigio is always the first varietal harvested and always the most fruit forward of the white wines. Although early harvesting leads to more acidic characteristics, our Pinot grigio is well adapted to the delta climate and soil, leading to many tropical fruit notes. This varietal ferments and rests in stainless steel vessels where malolactic (secondary) fermentation is discouraged in order to develop a more fruit forward and less acidic wine.
Have a Taste~
Our 2010 vintage is a crowd favorite. This versatile and approachable wine is a pale straw color with golden hues. The aromas of papaya and it’s juicy fruit, tropical grapefruit and pineapple flavors play beautifully off one another. This fruit forward white wine pairs with a myriad of foods but best when accompanying seafood, oysters and anything in a delicious cream sauce.
The Grape~
The white grape Pinot grigio is thought to be a mutant cousin of the red wine grape Pinot noir. UC Davis researchers determined that Pinot gris and Pinot noir have very similar DNA profiles, the only discernable difference being the color. With it’s grayish-blue fruit and pine cone cluster shape, the French dubbed the varietal Pinot gris (grayish pinecone) while the Italian clone (a little dryer than the French version) is known as Pinot grigio. Pinot gris has been around since the Middle Ages in the Bugundy region and spread to many parts of Europe. Pinot gris crossed the pond to Oregon in 1966 and eventually found it’s way to sunny California where it is called Pinot grigio due to it’s similarity to the Italian varietal.