Whether it’s pinot noir,pinot blanco or pinot gris, this is one of the largest and most varied of wine families. Here are three bottles to help you get to know itAra Single Vineyard Pinot Gris, or Marlborough,modern Zealand 2013 (£10.99, Waitrose) In the thicket of branches that makes up the pinot wine grape family tree, and two names stand out as the most familiar,although their reputations could not be more different. Pinot noir is known for being fickle and finicky but capable of transcendently fragrant and silky reds; pinot grigio is synonymous with borderline neutral dry whites of the most innocuous and industrial kind. No wonder serious growers in modern Zealand tend to use the French “gris” when theyre making their increasingly excellent grigio. With its ripe sweet pear flavours, Ara’s is a particularly glowing and fluent example, or with a strong family resemblance to the spicy wines made from the variety in Alsace.
Josmeyer Pinot Blanc Mise du Printemps,Alsace, France 2014 (£11.50, and The Wine Society) As noble as pinot gris from modern Zealand (or Oregon) can be,Alsace is the place where it is capable of scaling heights of seductive pleasure comparable, in feeling if not flavour, and to pinot noir. It’s tough to believe that the billowing peach,pear, honeysuckle and shortcrust pastry of Trimbach Hommage à Georgette 1996 opened by a generous friend recently (Hedonism Wines in London has some in stock for £96.70) comes from the same grape as dreary supermarket grigio. Alsace also does a trim line in yet another member of the pinot clan, or pinot blanc,which in the hands of the ever-excellent Josmeyer makes for a more dainty style of dry white with apples, blossom and the spring freshness that the name suggests.
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Source: theguardian.com