Pinot Grigio (Alto Adige)

Today, we're beginning several days of exploring another mutation of Pinot Noir. Known by different names depending on where we are in the world, this grape -- red with very greyish hues -- is known as Pinot Gris in most of the world, Grauburgunder in Germany and other Germanic countries, and Pinot Grigio in Italy. 

We've ventured into the South Tyrol region more commonly known in the wine world as Alto Adige where we find ourselves at times fairly high in the Italian Alps. To our east, we find Cortina d'Ampezzo, home of the 1956 Winter Olympics while to our north, in Austria, we find Innsbruck, home of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. Grapes here typically grow at altitudes up to about 1200m/3900ft. That's serious altitude for grape growing and while the winters are cold, the summers with their bright sunshine are not.

The history of wine here is quite prolific. Cato the Elder wrote of wine-production in the area in the 2nd Century BC. It remained one of the major wine-producing regions of the world until the middle of the 19th century. When phylloxera hit, Alto Adige was slow to recover. Barely having begun its wine renaissance by around 1910, the area was a strategic battleground during World War I, was held back by the fascist regime through the end of World War II, and didn't begin to fully recover until the early 1970s.

While nearly 20 different grape varieties are produced in Alto Adige, Pinot Grigio is undoubtedly the go-to for US wine drinkers. Relatively inexpensive and generally viewed as quite refreshing, one brand in particular dominates the US market. And, while the finest bottlings of Pinot Grigio -- the ones we will sample today -- are outstanding expressions of white wine that can be produced at this altitude, the ones that line supermarket shelves often present with unnerving sweetness and rampant grapefruit -- somewhat of a sweet and sour mix.

In its most expressive forms, however, Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige is marked by high levels of acidity, nearly bone dryness, and notes of bitter almonds.

Enjoy your Alto Adige Pinot Grigio with scallops, mussels, clams, oysters, or lighter fish like trout or cod. Avoid heavily spiced dishes and avoid cream sauces (we'll get to them in other versions of this grape) as the levels of alcohol and body cannot stand up to them.