ReturnPinot Grigio
2005 Lagaria Trentino ($10)
Vineyards in the Italian region of Trentino’s castle-filled Val Lagarina provide the grapes for this simple but refreshing Pinot Grigio, a personal project of noted Italian-wine importer Neil Empson. It’s fresh and lively, with a faint almond scent.
2005 Meridian California ($10)
Meridian white-wine maker Lee Miyamura adds a dollop of Gewürztraminer (5 percent) for an appealing note of earthy spice in this light, peachy white—and about the same percentage of Chardonnay to give it a slightly rounder mouthfeel.
2006 Flora Springs ($12)
Napa Valley’s warmth typically makes it a poor place to grow Pinot Grigio, but at Flora Springs, the heat is moderated by cooling influences from Conn Creek, resulting in a rich but balanced Pinot Grigio.
2005 Giovanni Puiatti Zuccole Friuli ($15)
Giovanni Puiatti ferments and ages his wines in stainless steel, as his father did; hence the company’s amusing slogan, "Save a tree—drink Puiatti." As one would expect, this is a bright, intense Italian Pinot Grigio, with zesty citrus and green apple flavors.
2005 Zemmer Alto Adige ($15)
Zemmer is effectively a cooperative, sourcing grapes from more than 150 Italian growers. Yet the company itself is family-owned, with winemaker Peter Zemmer making superb whites like this smoky bottling full of stone-fruit flavors.
2005 Hofstätter De Vite Alto Adige ($17)
Grapey notes prevail in this delicate, charming white, for which top winemaker Martin Foradori-Hofstätter uses grapes solely from family-owned vineyards near the Northern Italian village of Tramin.
2005 La Tunella Colli Orientali del Friuli ($17)
Colli Orientali means "the eastern hills," and in Friuli, that means the border of Slovenia, which is why the Zorzettig family name sounds more Mitteleuropean than Italian. Nevertheless, this is a model of Italian Pinot Grigio: graceful, lightly stony, peach-blossom scented and delicious.
2005 Alois Lageder Benefizium Porer Alto Adige ($22)
Aging on its lees (the dead yeast cells left over after fermentation) in stainless steel tanks gives this single-vineyard Pinot Grigio’s stone-fruit flavors remarkable depth and focus.
2005 Schiopetto Collio ($38)
This famed winery was founded by the visionary Friulian winemaker Mario Schiopetto (who died in 2003) and is now overseen by his three children. If this complex, minerally, elegant white is any indication, the quality of the wines remains very high.
Pinot Gris
2005 Bethel Heights Oregon ($15)
Oregon is primarily known as a Pinot Noir-producing region, but the quality of its Pinot Gris wines is equally impressive. This bottling from Bethel Heights is characteristic: peachy, spicy and rich, but also perfectly balanced.
2005 Illmitz Kracher Burgenland ($15)
Lean and racy, this Austrian Pinot Gris from sweet-wine specialist Alois Kracher defies standard Pinot Gris expectations: It’s tart and spare, alive with mineral and orange-zest notes, and makes a great match for shellfish of any kind.
2005 Mueller Russian River Valley ($18)
The inaugural vintage of Pinot Gris from well-known Sonoma Pinot Noir producer Robert Mueller, this white offers a lovely scent of wildflowers along with full-bodied white-peach flavor and a lingering finish.
2005 Kumeu River ($19)
Kumeu River owner-winemaker Michael Brajkovich uses only wild yeasts (as opposed to manufactured ones) to ferment this floral Pinot Gris. It’s full-bodied, with concentrated stone-fruit flavors—no surprise, given the extraordinary quality of New Zealand’s 2005 vintage.
2006 Spy Valley Marlborough ($25)
Poised on the edge of dry and off-dry (i.e., very slightly sweet), this pretty, tangerine-scented white comes from New Zealand’s Marlborough region, usually better known for its peppery, intense Sauvignon Blancs.
2005 Les Crêtes Vallée d’Aoste ($28)
Les Crêtes is one of the few privately owned commercial wineries in the tiny Italian region of Vallée d’Aoste, and until recently, its wines were not available in the United States. And though production remains small, this wine is definitely worth the search. It’s exotically appealing—unctuous, golden and luxuriously rich, but also completely dry.
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