Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are the same grape variety. We could call them Pinot Grey as gris is grey in French and grigio is grey in Italian.
In France, Pinot Gris is made into a fuller bodied, textural wines often with a touch of sweetness. Their home is in Alsace – the north-eastern part of France.
In Italy, Pinot Grigio is made into a light bodied, dry, alive and easy drinking wine. Originally, Pinot Grigio was grown in the north of Italy whilst now it is grown throughout all of Italy.
Australia had miniscule plantings of Pinot Gris/Grigio until Kathleen Quealy of T’Gallant fell in love with it and planted it on the Mornington Peninsula. In the early days, Kath’s wines were named Gris or Grigio according to their style. These days, many Aussie winemakers do not follow this nomenclature meaning either name could be either style or inbetween!
Montevento 2017 Pinot Grigio
The grapes are grown in Verona and Treviso in the north east of Italy. It is made by the Pasqua family who have been making wine in the area since 1925.
Classic Italian Pinot Grigio – light and refreshing with aromas and flavours of citrus and almonds.
Foxeys Hangout 2018 Pinot Gris
Two brothers put themselves through winemaking and grape growing studies whilst running the highly successful gastro-pub – Argo Hotel. They packed up themselves and families and moved down to the Mornington Peninsula.
This is a true Pinot Gris style being barrel fermented (in old oak so as not to impart flavour, only texture) with a little malolactic fermentation only. The use of wild yeast adds more complexity. It does not have sweetness of a French Pinot Gris.
