Domaine Weinbach Pinot Gris Cuvee Sainte Catherine 2015

Vinous 91+ points

Bright golden straw-yellow. The complex nose combines peach, musky herbs and butter; then similar flavors in the mouth. Sweet and concentrated, but with fresh acidity nicely framing and extending the fruit on the long back end. Not yet complex, but I think it will reward patience. Made from grapes grown in the Clos, a piece of Schlossberg and the young vines (eight years old) of the Marckrain Grand Cru, this is a must-try with mushroom risotto. (Mar 2017)

Wine Spectator 91 points

Fine and creamy, this light- to medium-bodied white offers a sense of finesse, layering bright acidity, spicy minerality and flavors star fruit, peach skin, orange blossom, candied ginger and smoke. Drink now through 2025. 440 cases made. -AN (Oct 31 2016)

Grape Variety

Pinot Gris Wine

Pinot Gris is a white-wine grape originally from the vineyards of Burgundy, but now found in wine regions all over the world. When produced in the pale, light style popularized in late 20th-Century Italy, the variety and its wines are typically referred to by the Italian name Pinot Grigio.

One of the more famous members of the extended Pinot family of grape varieties, Pinot Gris is a pink-skinned mutation of Pinot Noir. The two varieties are indistinguishable in the vineyard right up until veraison, when Pinot Gris berries take on their distinctive array of colors; anything from orange-pink to pale, dusty purple. The adjective gris is French for “gray”, and refers to the dusty, light-gray sheen the grapes often take on. Although possibly confusing to English speakers, this convention is widely used in Europe, notably in Italian (grigio), German (grauer), Slovenian (sivi) and Czech (sede).

Pinot Gris grapes

Although sometimes used as a blending component, Pinot Gris is most commonly produced as a varietal wine. Flavors and aromas vary greatly from region to region and from style to style, but commonly feature notes of pears, apples, stonefruit, sweet spices and even a hint of smoke or wet wool. Most winemakers avoid obvious oak character in their Pinot Gris, but some use older barrels (which leave less oak flavor in the wine) for fermentation. For weightier, more complex styles of Pinot Gris, lees contact and partial malolactic fermentation are commonly used. Sweet late-harvest versions wines are common.

Pinot Gris grapes are naturally low in acidity and high in sugars, so the finest Pinot Gris wines come from the world’s cooler viticultural regions; those from warmer climates tend to lack acidity and structure and can be overbearingly alcoholic. Europe’s showcase examples come from vineyards on either side of the Rhine river, from Baden and Pfalz in Germany and, particularly, Alsace in France. In these regions, the wines are made in varying levels of sweetness, from bone dry to lusciously sweet; a Pinot Gris Selection de Grains Nobles from Alsace is one of the sweetest, most intensely flavored wines on earth.

In Alsace, Pinot Gris was known for many centuries as Tokay or Tokay d’Alsace. However, in 2007 the European Union outlawed use of that name in Alsace, in order to prevent confusion with Hungary’s prestigious Tokaji wines.

Of the New World wine regions, the variety is doing well in the United States (most notably Oregon but also Washington and California) and New Zealand. New World producers have recognized and respected the distinction between the Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio styles, and typically label their wines accordingly (lighter, drier versions as Pinot Grigio, while sweeter or richer styles as Pinot Gris).

For more information on Pinot Gris’ lighter, crisper alter ego, see Pinot Grigio.

Synonyms include: Pinot Grigio, Rulander, Grauburgunder, Grauer Burgunder, Grauer Riesling, Grauklevner, Malvoisie, Fromenteau Gris, Pinot Beurot, Auvernat Gris, Auxerrois Gris, Tokay d’Alsace (prior to 2007), Szurkebarat, Sivi Pinot.

Food matches for Pinot Gris include:

• Insalata di bresaola (air-cured beef salad)
• Salt and pepper squid
• Pulled pork with fennel and apple slaw