"pinot gris" news and stories

Photo: Barefoot Cellars

Gretchen Roberts writes the wine blog Vinobite, has passed the introductory course at the Court of Master Sommeliers and is studying for her sommelier certification this fall.

I confess I'm not a huge Pinot Grigio fan, but only because so many of them are boring and insipid, like the drone who corners you at a party and prevents you from meeting more interesting people. But Pinot Grigio is the wine du jour in the summer, and when you find a good one among the sea of soulless, watery summertime quaffers, it's wise to snap it up.

Pinot Gris is the French name for the same grape, but is generally used to denote fuller-bodied and riper wines -- those with some interesting complexity and a mineral character. Here are six Gris/Grigio brands I'm happy to sip.

Six $25-and-Under Pinot Grigio/Gris recommendations after the jump, plus our Wine Poll of the Week (do you like it hot?).

I spent last weekend at the San Antonio New World Wine and Food Festival, which is basically a five-day gorge-fest against the backdrop of the beautiful San Antonio River in weather that can only be described as perfect. I was highly amused to receive a welcome gift from the San Antonio Convention and Visitor's Bureau that included Alka Selzer and Advil, as if to prepare us for impending stomachaches and hangovers at the festival.

On Thursday I went to a winemaker's dinner at Las Canarias, a restaurant on the river inside the beautiful old hotel La Mansion. Our winemaker was Jean Trimbach, a clean-cut, handsome Frenchman from Alsace who showcased a gorgeous selection of his family's cool-climate gems from Pinot Blanc to Pinot Noir. "My brother makes the wine, and I drink it," Jean joked when we asked about his role in the family business.

Trimbach has been making wine in Alsace, a French wine region bordering Germany that has changed hands between the two countries several times, since the seventeenth century. Though Trimbach isn't one of the biggest winemakers in Alsace, it's one of the region's most recognizable brands.

Read more about Trimbach wines after the jump.

California's "cult Cab," Screaming Eagle, released its 2003 vintage in June of this year, and is commanding a price of $1,500 for three bottles. That's $500 a bottle, making it the most expensive current-realease wine out of the US. But is it worth it?

Bargain Wines are all over the map of California. The Wine Selection of the Week is Pinot Grigio/Gris. They tasted 52 wines and picked the best, ranging from light, citrusy, Italian-style Pinot Grigios to richer, weightier Pinot Gris similar to those produced in the Alsace region of France. The highest rating of the list went to 2005 Robert Sinskey Los Carneros Pinot Gris with three-and-a-half stars out of four (***1/2).

A Citrus-Coconut Milk Ceviche is a perfect pair for the Pinot Grigios, and the hot weather. The Cheese Selection of the Week is a "candy-like" sheep's milk cheese called Ewephoria.