No, that’s not the color of the wine. And I’m not referring to how the wine was produced though there are many “gray” wine production methods from adding both additional sugar and acid during thin vintages or employing oak sawdust or 4x4 oak “lumber” instead of oak barrel aging for that barrel aged flavor. What I’m talking about is that gray grape, specifically Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris depending on where it’s produced (it also goes by the names Rulander, Grauer Burgunder and Pinot Beurot but these are rarely seen on the label).
Is it related to Pinot Noir? Funny you should ask. Why yes it is. As I mentioned in a previous column, the Pinot family of grapes are very genetically unstable mutating depending on temperature, soil conditions, etc . The two main varieties that produce red wine are Pinot Noir (Pinot “black”) and Pinot Meunier (Pinot “miller” as in milled flour due to the presence of “flour” spots on the underside of the leaf). Both are used in sparkling wine and Pinot Noir also makes great still wine here in California, in Oregon and in Burgundy, France. The two main varieties that produce white wine are Pinot Blanc (Pinot “white”) and Pinot Grigio (Pinot “gray”). It’s interesting that the color of Pinot Grigio is actually a grayish blue and you would assume that the wine that’s produced would be red but Pinot Grigio is a white wine. And a very good white wine that spans the flavor spectrum from citrusy, lemony all the way up to rich stone fruit flavors depending on where it’s grown.
From the Golden State
Pinot Grigio from the Golden State tends to be lighter in color with a pale straw hue and lemon-citrus flavors and a light body. They are perfect with any delicate seafood including oysters, clams, flaky white flesh fish and shrimp. When pairing seafood, just ask yourself if a squeeze of lemon would enhance the dish. If your answer is yes, then Pinot Grigio would also complement the dish. Another benefit of Pinot Grigio other than its seafood friendly nature is that it’s also wallet friendly. Most bottles will only set you back $20 max with most bottles in the $12 to $15 range. In fact one of my standby wines doesn’t even
come in a bottle. It’s packaged in a 1 liter Tetra pack container from Three Thieves with their Bandit Pinot Grigio. What!? Is the economy in the Aloha State that bad that I’ve resorted to box wine? Well, it’s actually not “box” wine since there’s no cardboard box involved. It initially started as a gag gift for my Mom who does partake in box wine. I tried some and was sold! At $5.99 to $7.50 a container, it provides 33% more wine than the standard bottle and is packaged in 70% renewable resources. Green to boot! This would be the perfect wine for your next backyard seafood boil and you don’t have to worry about cumbersome bottles, glass breakage or liquidating your 401k! Clean, crisp white wine that dances with seafood on the palate!
If you do prefer your wine in glass enclosures, then my next recommendation would be Luna Pinot Grigio. With their Tuscan styled winery and tasting room at the beginning of the Silverado Trail, Luna produces very good Pinot Grigio that can pair with heartier dishes like roasted pork or dark fleshed fish. Because they add a touch of Chardonnay to the blend, it gives the wine an extra dimension of richness yet it retains the lemony-citrusy character in California Pinot Grigio.
Northern Exposures
Farther north in Oregon, Pinot Grigio takes on earthier and richer fruit tones. It also takes on its alternate name; Pinot Gris. While some of the citrusy qualities remain, the wine now emanates peach, apricot and rounder flavors. These richer flavor profiles allows it to pair with dishes like roasted pork, lighter meat game and even pate. Pate, isn’t that the stuff of animal organs? Well it’s simply chicken, duck, goose or pork liver processed into a semi-solid mousse but when consumed in miniscule quantities, add a flavor dimension not found in the vegetable world. And one if its favorite beverage companions is a rich Pinot Gris.
Back to the Old World
In the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia or Alto-Adige regions of Italy, it’s the white wine you’ll probably see with lighter fare and like the Golden State, its name is Pinot Grigio. Supposedly, the white wine imported the most from Europe is a Pinot Grigio – I’m sure you’ve seen the commercial on the cable networks featuring the slim brunette in the black dress admiring herself in the mirror. Yes
that wine is a Pinot Grigio. And while it maintains that same lemony-citrusy quality, it also has a pleasing underlying minerality about it. Like lemon juice with a touch of stone to balance the earthy qualities of the food you’re consuming.
And if you travel a little farther North, you’ll find the wines of Alsace, France where once again, the wines are known as Pinot Gris (as opposed to Pinot Grigio). These wines are usually the richest and earthiest that Pinot Gris (or Pinot Grigio) gets. The stone fruit aromas usually are the primary sensations with lemon and citrus taking a backseat and always with spicy qualities usually not found in domestic or Italian labels. This is the Pinot Gris that was meant to pair with pate – especially bottles with 10 or so years of aging. However these bottles will set you back $20 up to $50 though late harvest versions (vendange tardive) can approach the $400 range… but since most of us don’t consume pate on a regular basis, I say once in a while is worth the price… the $20 to $50 versions at least.
The Alternate White Wine
So the next time you want to drink a white wine but feel that a Chardonnay is just a bit heavy (those hot dog days of summer) for both the palate and the food and you don’t want the herbaceous qualities of a Sauvignon Blanc, consider that gray variation of Pinot, Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris. Great with lighter dishes though robust enough to go with pate (if you want to indulge) and definitely lighter on the wallet. For a couple of food pairing recommendations, try my Pesto Clam Pasta with Californian or Italian Pinot Grigio or my rendition of that exquisite Vietnamese sandwich, Banh Mi with either an Oregonian or Alsatian Pinot Gris.
Clam Pesto Pasta
½ lb Barilla Plus Angel Hair pasta cooked to package instructions
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cans chopped/minced clams, drained but with liquid reserved
1 clove minced fresh garlic
½ small onion minced
½ c pesto, fresh, bottled or packaged preferably without cheese
½ c dry white wine
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1 tbsp arrowroot mixed with a dash of water or wine to dissolve
Heat olive oil on medium high temperature then sauté drained clams, onion and garlic until garlic softened, about 3 minutes. Add clam juice and white wine and cook another 2 minutes. Season with black pepper and salt then add arrowroot mixture to thicken then toss with cooked Angel Hair pasta. Serve with a California or Italian Pinot Grigio.
Banh Mi
Crusty French style baguette
Pickled julienne of carrots and daikon
Fresh cilantro sprigs
Sandwich meat of your choice
-the traditional sandwich meat is steamed pork and ham though chicken and other cold cuts are also used
Mayonnaise
Pate
No measurements are given as sandwich can be constructed to your preference. For the pickled carrots and daikon, I use 1 part sugar, 1 part water, 2 parts Japanese vinegar and ½ part salt and soak the vegetables for at least 24 hours then drain and paper towel dry before adding to the sandwich.
For sandwich construction, spread the pate on the lower half of the baguette with the mayonnaise on the top half. Place the sandwich meat over the pate then add the julienned pickled vegetables and a couple of sprigs of cilantro. The main components of the Banh Mi are the pate, the mayonnaise and the pickled vegetables. Fillings can be selected to your preference and the baguette doesn’t have to be the tear-your-upper-palate variety though that’s the traditional type used. I also highly encourage the use of fresh cilantro. If you don’t like it, try it again. Serve with an Oregon or Alsatian Pinot Gris.
Is it related to Pinot Noir? Funny you should ask. Why yes it is. As I mentioned in a previous column, the Pinot family of grapes are very genetically unstable mutating depending on temperature, soil conditions, etc . The two main varieties that produce red wine are Pinot Noir (Pinot “black”) and Pinot Meunier (Pinot “miller” as in milled flour due to the presence of “flour” spots on the underside of the leaf). Both are used in sparkling wine and Pinot Noir also makes great still wine here in California, in Oregon and in Burgundy, France. The two main varieties that produce white wine are Pinot Blanc (Pinot “white”) and Pinot Grigio (Pinot “gray”). It’s interesting that the color of Pinot Grigio is actually a grayish blue and you would assume that the wine that’s produced would be red but Pinot Grigio is a white wine. And a very good white wine that spans the flavor spectrum from citrusy, lemony all the way up to rich stone fruit flavors depending on where it’s grown.
From the Golden State
Pinot Grigio from the Golden State tends to be lighter in color with a pale straw hue and lemon-citrus flavors and a light body. They are perfect with any delicate seafood including oysters, clams, flaky white flesh fish and shrimp. When pairing seafood, just ask yourself if a squeeze of lemon would enhance the dish. If your answer is yes, then Pinot Grigio would also complement the dish. Another benefit of Pinot Grigio other than its seafood friendly nature is that it’s also wallet friendly. Most bottles will only set you back $20 max with most bottles in the $12 to $15 range. In fact one of my standby wines doesn’t even
come in a bottle. It’s packaged in a 1 liter Tetra pack container from Three Thieves with their Bandit Pinot Grigio. What!? Is the economy in the Aloha State that bad that I’ve resorted to box wine? Well, it’s actually not “box” wine since there’s no cardboard box involved. It initially started as a gag gift for my Mom who does partake in box wine. I tried some and was sold! At $5.99 to $7.50 a container, it provides 33% more wine than the standard bottle and is packaged in 70% renewable resources. Green to boot! This would be the perfect wine for your next backyard seafood boil and you don’t have to worry about cumbersome bottles, glass breakage or liquidating your 401k! Clean, crisp white wine that dances with seafood on the palate!If you do prefer your wine in glass enclosures, then my next recommendation would be Luna Pinot Grigio. With their Tuscan styled winery and tasting room at the beginning of the Silverado Trail, Luna produces very good Pinot Grigio that can pair with heartier dishes like roasted pork or dark fleshed fish. Because they add a touch of Chardonnay to the blend, it gives the wine an extra dimension of richness yet it retains the lemony-citrusy character in California Pinot Grigio.
Northern Exposures
Farther north in Oregon, Pinot Grigio takes on earthier and richer fruit tones. It also takes on its alternate name; Pinot Gris. While some of the citrusy qualities remain, the wine now emanates peach, apricot and rounder flavors. These richer flavor profiles allows it to pair with dishes like roasted pork, lighter meat game and even pate. Pate, isn’t that the stuff of animal organs? Well it’s simply chicken, duck, goose or pork liver processed into a semi-solid mousse but when consumed in miniscule quantities, add a flavor dimension not found in the vegetable world. And one if its favorite beverage companions is a rich Pinot Gris.
Back to the Old World
In the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia or Alto-Adige regions of Italy, it’s the white wine you’ll probably see with lighter fare and like the Golden State, its name is Pinot Grigio. Supposedly, the white wine imported the most from Europe is a Pinot Grigio – I’m sure you’ve seen the commercial on the cable networks featuring the slim brunette in the black dress admiring herself in the mirror. Yes
that wine is a Pinot Grigio. And while it maintains that same lemony-citrusy quality, it also has a pleasing underlying minerality about it. Like lemon juice with a touch of stone to balance the earthy qualities of the food you’re consuming.And if you travel a little farther North, you’ll find the wines of Alsace, France where once again, the wines are known as Pinot Gris (as opposed to Pinot Grigio). These wines are usually the richest and earthiest that Pinot Gris (or Pinot Grigio) gets. The stone fruit aromas usually are the primary sensations with lemon and citrus taking a backseat and always with spicy qualities usually not found in domestic or Italian labels. This is the Pinot Gris that was meant to pair with pate – especially bottles with 10 or so years of aging. However these bottles will set you back $20 up to $50 though late harvest versions (vendange tardive) can approach the $400 range… but since most of us don’t consume pate on a regular basis, I say once in a while is worth the price… the $20 to $50 versions at least.
The Alternate White Wine
So the next time you want to drink a white wine but feel that a Chardonnay is just a bit heavy (those hot dog days of summer) for both the palate and the food and you don’t want the herbaceous qualities of a Sauvignon Blanc, consider that gray variation of Pinot, Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris. Great with lighter dishes though robust enough to go with pate (if you want to indulge) and definitely lighter on the wallet. For a couple of food pairing recommendations, try my Pesto Clam Pasta with Californian or Italian Pinot Grigio or my rendition of that exquisite Vietnamese sandwich, Banh Mi with either an Oregonian or Alsatian Pinot Gris.
Clam Pesto Pasta
½ lb Barilla Plus Angel Hair pasta cooked to package instructions
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cans chopped/minced clams, drained but with liquid reserved
1 clove minced fresh garlic
½ small onion minced
½ c pesto, fresh, bottled or packaged preferably without cheese
½ c dry white wine
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1 tbsp arrowroot mixed with a dash of water or wine to dissolve
Heat olive oil on medium high temperature then sauté drained clams, onion and garlic until garlic softened, about 3 minutes. Add clam juice and white wine and cook another 2 minutes. Season with black pepper and salt then add arrowroot mixture to thicken then toss with cooked Angel Hair pasta. Serve with a California or Italian Pinot Grigio.
Banh Mi
Crusty French style baguette
Pickled julienne of carrots and daikon
Fresh cilantro sprigs
Sandwich meat of your choice
-the traditional sandwich meat is steamed pork and ham though chicken and other cold cuts are also used
Mayonnaise
Pate
No measurements are given as sandwich can be constructed to your preference. For the pickled carrots and daikon, I use 1 part sugar, 1 part water, 2 parts Japanese vinegar and ½ part salt and soak the vegetables for at least 24 hours then drain and paper towel dry before adding to the sandwich.
For sandwich construction, spread the pate on the lower half of the baguette with the mayonnaise on the top half. Place the sandwich meat over the pate then add the julienned pickled vegetables and a couple of sprigs of cilantro. The main components of the Banh Mi are the pate, the mayonnaise and the pickled vegetables. Fillings can be selected to your preference and the baguette doesn’t have to be the tear-your-upper-palate variety though that’s the traditional type used. I also highly encourage the use of fresh cilantro. If you don’t like it, try it again. Serve with an Oregon or Alsatian Pinot Gris.
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