The house grapes · white
Pinot Grigio: the gray grape with two accents
Pinot Grigio is a grape with gray-pink skin that was born from a mutation of Pinot Noir. In Italian it's called Pinot Grigio; in French, Pinot Gris. It's the same grape, but the two names became two ways of making wine: the Italian one, fresh and easy, to drink chilled; and the Alsatian one, fuller, with aromas of dried fruit and a smoky touch. That Italian white at the next table in the pizzeria was probably one of them.
Where it comes from
Pinot Grigio is French and belongs to the Pinot family. In VIVC, the international grape catalog, its official name is Pinot Gris, originating in France, with its skin color recorded as gray, neither white nor red. The catalog records its origin as a mutation of Pinot Noir, the same path as Pinot Blanc. In other words: Noir, Gris and Blanc are practically the same plant, which changed the color of its skin.
The Alto Adige wine consortium, in northern Italy, explains the trick: the skin has layers of genetically different cells, one on top of the other. That's why the color is unstable, and every now and then a bunch, or just a single berry, turns up blue or white in the middle of the vineyard. In Alto Adige, the first recorded planting was in 1848, in Eppan, and at first it was planted mixed in with Pinot Blanc.
What it's like in the glass
It depends on where it comes from. In the Italian style, the rules of the Delle Venezie appellation describe a wine that's straw to golden in color, fruity and sometimes floral on the nose, fresh and harmonious on the palate, from dry to slightly sweet, with at least 11% alcohol. It's the white for a hot day, to drink young and chilled. In the Campanha Gaúcha, Embrapa sums up the aroma of varietal Pinot Grigio in one word: pear.
In Alsace, the same grape becomes another wine. The CIVA, the committee for the wines there, talks of a golden-yellow color, smoky aromas, dried fruit, apricot, honey and beeswax, and a broad, fleshy palate, held up by an acidity that keeps everything together. In Alto Adige, the wines from the valley floor recall ripe apple, pear and quince; those from the higher slopes lean toward lemon and white peach, with more noticeable acidity.
What it pairs with
The fresh Italian style is an everyday wild card: salad, bruschetta, grilled fish, garlic and olive oil shrimp, lemon risotto, sushi and pizza margherita. The fuller Alsatian style takes on dishes with personality: the CIVA suggests foie gras, roast pork, duck, mushrooms and aged cheeses. At a Brazilian table, it goes well with pork loin, chicken with mushrooms, porcini risotto and Canastra cheese. All suggestions: liked another pairing? Go with that one.
Where it shines today
Italy is its biggest home: 25,000 hectares in 2015, according to the OIV, the international wine organization, and one of only two grapes that grew in area in the country from 2000 to 2015. Almost all of it is in the northeast, in the Delle Venezie appellation, which brings together Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia and the province of Trento. The consortium now speaks of 27,000 hectares, about 230 million bottles a year and 85% of Italian Pinot Grigio.
Further north, in Alto Adige, it has been the most planted white for more than three decades, with 715 hectares, according to the local consortium. In Germany, under the name Grauburgunder, there were 8,404 hectares in 2024, the country's third white. In France, almost all of the area is in Alsace. In Oregon, in the United States, it was the second most planted grape in 2018. In Brazil, it shows up in the Campanha Gaúcha, among the authorized grapes of the Indication of Provenance.
Its other names
In VIVC, the official name is Pinot Gris, and the list of synonyms has 249 names. The ones that show up most are Pinot Grigio, as Italy writes it, and Pinot Gris, as France writes it. In Germany, Grauer Burgunder or Ruländer; in Hungary, Szürkebarát, which means gray monk. In Alto Adige, the tradition is to write Ruländer: the consortium says the name comes from a merchant from Speyer named Ruland, who supposedly spread the grape in the 18th century.
The Tokay that was never Tokay
Alsace called this grape Tokay for more than a century. The legend, as told by the CIVA, says that around 1565 a baron, Lazare de Schwendi, brought cuttings from the town of Tokaj, in Hungary, famous for its wine. The thing is, the Hungarian wine is made from Furmint, and ampelographers think it more likely that the grape planted in Alsace was Pinot Gris from Burgundy. The name kept changing: Grauer Tokayer, Tokay d'Alsace, Tokay Pinot Gris and, since April 1, 2007, just Pinot Gris.
In Italy, the gray-pink skin gave rise to another tradition: ramato, a word that means copper-colored. The rules of the Delle Venezie appellation say that the terms ramato, more common in Friuli, and rosato, in Veneto and Trento, already appear in writings from the time of the Republic of Venice. Under the appellation rules, in the version published in 2021, the label may say Pinot Grigio ramato or rosato, including in the lightly sparkling and sparkling versions, for those who like the wine with that coppery tone.
Top rated with Pinot Grigio
Average rating from the people who drank it (X-Wines), from 1 to 5. Tap to see the wine's page.
- Von Winning Ungeheuer GGrating ★ 4.3
- Au Bon Climat Hildegardrating ★ 4.3
- Vie di Romans Dessimis Pinot Grigiorating ★ 4.3
- St. Michael-Eppan Sanct Valentin Pinot Grigiorating ★ 4.3
- Domaine Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Alsace Clos Windsbuhlrating ★ 4.2
- Tenuta Valleselle Arnasi Pinot Grigiorating ★ 4.2
- Gustave Lorentz Pinot Gris Alsace Grand Cru Altenberg De Bergheimrating ★ 4.2
- Cartuxa Scala Coeli Brancorating ★ 4.2
See all 338 labels with Pinot Grigio in the search →
Spotted something wrong on this page?
Got it, thanks. The house checks the source and fixes it.