Pinot Gris

APPEARANCE

ON THE VINE: often mistaken for Pinot Noir because the leaves are almost identical. Pinot Gris is a mutation of Pinot Noir and as such its berries vary in colour – anything from greyish blue to brownish pink, sometimes in the same bunch. They start off bright green and turn a Chardonnay-like yellow, eventually becoming a pink copper colour.

 

SMELL

Quite shy, Pinot Gris aromas range from delicate florals to an earthiness. Faint hints of citrus fruit, peach, spice, thatch and fynbos. Tasters sometimes find intense apple blossom and even Turkish delight.

TASTE

Pinot Gris makes for crisp Italian Pinot Grigio to almost oily Alsace Tokay – known as Tokay Pinot Gris or Tokay d'Alsace. Some spice.

ORIGIN

Pinot Gris has been in France for hundreds of years. Although a white variety, its strange colouring at various stages of ripeness may have given rise to its name: Gris meaning "grey". It is documented that around 1375, Emperor Charles IV took cuttings to Hungary which were then cultivated by Cistercian monks – who wore grey serge habits. It is still known as Szürkebarat, or "grey monk" in Hungary today. An imperial army officer is thought to have taken cuttings to Alsace and Baden, southern Germany, around 1570.

IN SOUTH AFRICA

Pinot Gris arrived in the 1970s with the promise of disease resistance, good yields, and wines with deep colour and body. This, plus its neutrality, recommended it as a blending wine and base for sparkling wine. First to release it as a single varietal wine in the mid-1980s was L'Ormarins, now selling it as Pinot Grigio under the Terra del Capo label. Uitkyk also sells a Pinot Grigio, under its Flatroof Manor label, with Van Loveren preferring the name Pinot Gris. It's been made in a variety of styles: from fat, full-bodied wines with high alcohols (sometimes wooded) to more delicate and fresh wines with a slightly spicy, earthy character.

ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD

Pinot Gris adapts well wherever it is planted. If left on the vine, it develops flavour, which, together with the sweetness of the late-harvested grapes results in some fine dessert wines. Germany has the greatest plantings, where it is known as Ruländer or Grauburgunder. Also cultivated in Burgundy, the Loire, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Austria, Slovenia, Moravia and Romania.

BEST EXAMPLES

Domain Schlumberger make some wonderful Tokay d'Alsace.

AGEING POTENTIAL

The Pinot Gris wines of Alsace can last five years or longer.

MATCHING WITH FOOD

If given extended skin contact it makes a great partner to chilli prawns and braaied crayfish, while a Pinot Gris that has had no skin contact and has undergone cool fermentation will be delicious with many cheese or fish dishes.

SERVING TEMPERATURE

As a dry white, between 10° and 14° C, and as a sparkling or late harvest wine, between 8° and 10° C.