Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris: A Solid Pinot Grigio, A Poor Pinot Gris...

It has been a long time since I've had Pinot Gris. I'm not really sure why. I love it. It has all the fat-bodied, oily, fruity deliciousness of a Gewurztraminer, but with more subtle aroma and far more acid. It's a perfect white when made right. And it goes with my other favorite delight -- yummy cheese. From Brie to Gouda to Parmesan, I think Pinot Gris is a beautiful match. I need to drink it more often. But as I'll discuss in the rundown, I need to be careful where I get the goods from.

I've discussed Pinot Gris at length in another post, but I'll do a quick review here in case you're not inclined to click over. Pinot Gris is native to Burgundy, France and it's a mutation of the totally unstable Pinot Noir grape (which has spawned this as well as other greatest hits like Pinot Blanc and Pinot Meunier, which is used in Champagne). Even though it's made as a white wine, it often has its parent's looks -- grey-blue, pink, or grey-yellow skin -- attributes of a black-skinned grape for sure. As a result, sometimes the wine in the bottle has a pink tinge because of this skin coloration (as always when I think about this, I am left wondering why this wine is made as a white when it would be so much easier to make it as a light red, but I digress).

Even though Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris are the exact same grape (and both mean “Grey Pinecone” -- grey because of the skin tinge, and pinecone because the bunch is shaped like a pinecone), they are vastly different in style. Why? Because the grapes are influenced by the soils and climates they grow in.

For example, when grown in bulk on flat, fertile plains like in the Veneto in Italy, Pinot Grigio is light, citrus-flavored, acidic, and pretty mild...or alcoholic lemon water, as I like to think of it. When grown with care, on mountainsides, in cooler climates, and in smaller yields, as in some parts of Fruili-Venezia-Giulia and Trentino Alto-Adige in Italy, parts of Oregon, and in Alsace, France, Pinot Gris is full-bodied, aromatic, honeyed, and rich. When grown in Alsace, it also has this very distinct character of Indian food spices that make my knees a little weak. This is a stunning grape that is so often abused and mistreated, creating ick results (is there a grape abuse hotline we can call? We need one!).

Since wine labeling in the New World (everywhere except Europe) is all about marketing, producers get to pick what they want to call the grape. My rule of thumb is usually that California wines often are named Pinot Grigio to mimic the Italian style (of insipid flavorless white) and Oregon and New Zealand wines are often named Pinot Gris to indicate a style closer to Alsace. The thing is, now I'm annoyed because I've been finding that this isn't entirely accurate.

On the Pinot Grigio side, I think I'm doing ok -- if I want my alcoholic citrus water from California instead of Italy, I can pick out a Pinot Grigio and score (which I generally try not to do, FYI). But on the Pinot Gris side, it's all messed up. I can't really speak for New Zealand because I've only had one or two Pinot Gris from there and they have been closer to the French style, but my sample size is way too small to generalize. But Oregon...oh, Oregon...I don't know what to expect anymore.

Oregon is one of my go-tos for Pinot Noir and it used to be a pretty reliable source for Pinot Gris too, but I'm starting to doubt that this is a mecca for the Grey One. Most of the Pinot Gris is grown in the Willamette (Will-AM-it) Valley, a premium wine making area that stretches from the Columbia River in the north, to south of Eugene, and from the western Oregon Coastal Range to the eastern Cascade Mountains. With a cool climate that doesn't get above 90 degrees or below 0 Farenheit, it should be good for growing a grape that does well in cooler climates, like Pinot Gris. But it's not producing the wines I think it could...or the producers aren't.

Last night I had the Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris. It was the most recent in a string of (ten or more) that I've had that have been more like a fuller version of Italian Pinot Grigio than French Pinot Gris. The ship is turning on Oregon for me, and I'm thinking I'm going to have to take it out of the rotation and stick to Alsace and better regions of Italy for this grape. This wine was sent to me very graciously by the Winery to review (that's my disclosure), however I will be honest as always. Here's the rundown:


The Wine: Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris
Where It's From: Willamette Valley, Oregon
The Grapes: Pinot Gris with an unspecified amount of Pinot Blanc and Muscat thrown in
Vintage: 2008
Price: $16.99

Color: A light golden hue, and very clear and sparkling, the wine looked beautiful and like a perfect example of Pinot Gris. Mouthwateringly pretty in the glass!

Smell: Here's where I started to wonder...the wine smelled like citrus fruit, red apples, apple skin, and pear but also like minerals and stream. There was a slight gasoline note too it that I usually only find in Pinot Grigio from Italy. For me, Pinot Gris from Alsace, which the Winery's notes claim is the model for this wine, is loaded, even dripping, with honeyed apple, rich ripe peach, orange, floral and smoke aromas and unmistakable East Indian spice. That was completely absent here and I became skeptical.

Taste: Say it ain't so.
Tasting notes say: "The stylistic vision of this wine is an 'Oregon version' of Alsatian Pinot Gris. Depth of extract, richness, big mouthfeel but with elegance and ability to age."

WFNP says: Although the wine shows apple, peach, and pear flavors, it also has a radicchio lettuce-like bitterness to it. It's not as thin as an Italian Pinot Grigio but it has the same almond skin bitter flavors I get from Veneto PG. Rather than opulent, creamy, or rich (as it is described), I think this is more of a light, simple wine. I would definitely not characterize this as having a big mouthfeel or much depth. It's a simple, refreshing white that doesn't have much going on.

Food Pairings: Rather than the richer fare that I'd pair with Alsace Pinot Gris, for this I'd stick with vegetarian dishes, salads, lightly grilled white fish, and light risottos.

Drink or Down the Sink?: As a Pinot Gris, I'd pour this down the sink. I wish they had called it a Pinot Grigio and not made claims that it was anything like Alsace's version. Putting that idea in my head, as impressionable as I may be, made me really disappointed in the wine. As a simple quaffer that's akin to Italian Pinot Grigio, this wine is better than most of the stuff out there (it's also double the price of most Italian Pinot Grigio, so it should be). The wine is well-made and balanced, albeit a little too bitter for my personal palate. If you like Pinot Grigio, you'll like this wine, however if you are a big fan of Alsace Pinot Gris, don't expect much -- buy another brand or buy the real deal for a few bucks more.

I have to admit that this run-in with this wine has me realizing that I must change my expectation of Oregon Pinot Gris. Although a few Oregon producers make it in the bigger French style, I'm realizing more and more that I what I thought was so, just isn't and I've got to expect a little less (or grab a marker and change the label on the bottle so I can psychologically accept that this is just better-than-average Pinot Grigio).

Take it for what it's worth and let me know what you think. Readmore »»

A Phenomenal, Not-So-Well-Known-But-Outstanding Mendocino Gem: Navarro Vineyards

So I start the year with an end...an end to the series on California wineries. I've enjoyed delving into Sonoma and Napa, but I'm also looking forward to returning on the never ending exploration of wines around the world. I give total props to those who blog exclusively on Cali, but I personally have too much wine A.D.D. and travel wanderlust to stay committed to one area (plus, I really love dorking out on the history of wine regions and although I adore our winelands in the US, the story is short and not so dramatic. I want the drama!).

Today we end with a real bang and talk about a phenomenal, not-so-well-known-but-outstanding gem in Mendocino: Navarro Vineyards.

Mendocino is a large area just north of Sonoma. It has a lot of characteristics that I love in a wine region. For starters, it's super green. According to the Mendocino Winegrape and Wine Commission, 28% of the grapes grown are either organic or biodynamic (check out my post on what this means if you are interested!). 71% of the vineyards are Fish Friendly (meaning they don't have runoff into streams and rivers, disturbing habitats). The area is the home of the first organic winery and the first Biodynamic winery in the US (both titles go to Frey Vineyards). One-third of all organic grapes grown in California are from Mendocino. Pretty damn good if you ask me.

Another plus for Mendocino is the diversity of the area. There are two main regions and they each produce vastly different wine types because they have vastly different climates. A mountain range divides the area into the cool, maritime climate of the west and the hotter more continental climate of the east. From a wine perspective, it may as well be two completely different areas of the world given the weather conditions.

Lots of wine is grown in the hot eastern area, but much of the praise for Mendocino goes to it's western flank where the fog off the Navarro River and from the Pacific Ocean creates a cool climate that produces amazing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and even (rare for Cali) Gewurztraminer and Riesling, which require really cold climates to thrive and taste good.

Within the western area is the most famous AVA (American Viticultural Area), Anderson Valley. It's known for being one of the coolest areas in California for winegrape growing and this place is not some crap area. The very esteemed and famous Louis Roederer (think Cristal) looked for decades to find a place in California with a climate similar enough to Champagne to warrant investment. Whereas some of the House's counterparts sought to make a go of it in the cool Carneros region in southern Napa/Sonoma (it spans both regions), Roederer planted a flag firmly in Anderson Valley, and others followed (I would have reviewed Roederer's wines, but they were closed when we swung by!).

If I haven't peaked your interest in discovering a little about Mendocino, I'll say one more thing. This area is like what Sonoma and Napa were like 25 or 30 years ago. It consists mainly of family farmers who make wine for the love of the land and of the juice. Although you can still find this in Sonoma (and I have posted plenty of examples) and (sometimes) Napa, Mendocino wineries seem less concerned with financial targets and more concerned with farming. And the wines are an amazing value.

I happened upon Navarro Vineyards years ago on my first trip to wine country. When I visited tasting rooms in Sonoma I asked every person that I thought knew a little something about wine what their favorite winery was, and Navarro came up about 3 or 4 times in 8 wineries. I thought it would be all hype, but there's something to all this referral business!

Navarro is a family operation that has been around since 1974. As they say on their site, you won't find them in your local wine shop (unless you live in California) but their direct-to-consumer prices are so competitive that if you're interested in trying their wines, it's not such a risky proposition to order a few bottles. And if my opinion means anything, I think the wines are freaking amazing.

On our visit, I felt like I was hanging out with friends -- the tasting room staff is smart and casual and the experience was so personal. Thanks to Christopher and Rose! I was trying to limit the number of wines I tasted, but I felt like a kid in a candy store and left with 8 bottles and a stack full of wine notes. Given that, I'm going to do a quick rundown of each wine, not my regular detail, and give you the gist of how amazing each was...

Wine 1: 2008 Pinot Gris, Anderson Valley
Price: $19
Color: This wine had no skin contact and no barrel aging, so it was nearly colorless. It looked like water!
Smell: The nose was so fragrant -- like nectarines, orange blossoms, yellow apples and white flowers with a little bit of almond.
Taste: It was super fruit forward but also really dry. A perfect blend of nectarine, sour apple, and a touch of almond nuttiness with a snappy clean finish.
Drink or down the sink?: Drink. An absolutely delicious wine. Fruity but still restrained. I loved it.

Wine 2: 2008 Gewurztraminer, Estate Bottled
Price: $19
Color: It was like the Pinot Gris in that the wine was pale and nearly colorless. It had a little meat on the legs due to higher alcohol, but not a rich gold like many Gewurztraminers.
Smell: Typical for Gewurz, the wine was like a bowl of ripe peaches but in a bath of spicy orange tea. The wine also smelled like Chinese lychee too.
Taste: WOW! A lush yet dry wine, it was like apples, lime, pineapple, and lychee. It had very low acid but wasn't flabby -- just super silky. I could sip this all day long.
Drink or down the sink?: I remembered this as the best US Gewurztraminers I've ever had. It retains the crown. Outstanding wine. Outstanding.

Wine 3: 2009 Riesling, Anderson Valley
Price: $18
Color: Like the Pinot Gris and the Gewurztraminer, the lack of skin contact goes a long way. This wine was colorless.
Smell: This wasn't a real blockbuster. Slight pear and apple aromas were present, but not much else.
Taste: This is a very dry Riesling, which I loved. It was simple -- those pear and apple aromas were fresh and clean in my mouth. There was a slight mineral tang and good acid too.
Drink or down the sink?: Drink. I love a dry Riesling and this is a great one for sipping. It would be terrific with spicy Chinese or Thai for sure.

Wine 4: 2007 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley
Price: $19
Color: Just the color I like to see in a Pinot -- a light garnet to pinkish color, but not dark and rich. Dark Pinot Noir scares me -- it means that it's overripe or the winemaker has extracted too much color from the skin...probably with some bitter tannins for good measure.
Smell: Totally what I'd expect from a Pinot Noir -- a combination of fresh berries and dirt with a touch of rock and minerals. This tasted like raspberries and cherries ground up in some gravel -- in a good way.
Taste: This wine was bone dry so I felt you could really taste the berry flavors clearly and how they were complemented by the mineral quality. The lack of oak on the wine made the fruit the star here.
Drink or down the sink?: Drink. A great wine if you want to taste what the Pinot Noir grape *really* tastes like.

Wine 4: 2007 Pinot Noir Methode a l'Ancienne (85% estate grown fruit)*
Price: $29
Color: This was a rich ruby color, but still pink and light -- still the right color for Pinot in my opinion.
Smell: Similar to the first Pinot but with the berry and cherry flavors serving as a backbone to the richer dirt and dusty road characters. This was a DIRTY smelling wine.
Taste: Like the smell, there was a less pronounced berry flavor and more flavors from the soil (dirt) and light oak treatment (about 1/3 of the juice went into new French oak barrels, which gives the flavors I'm about to describe). From the oak, caramel, cloves, and a light smokiness flowed through the wine giving it lots of complexity.
Drink or down the sink?: I love me a dirty wine. This was unbelievably good. Not overdone, not too fruity, and lots of complex earthy flavors. This is why I love Navarro.

*Note: For comparison, we also tried the 2006 version of this wine. It was completely different! More like rhubarb, brown sugar, cinnamon, and iron than the smoky, mineral quality of the 2007, it was like trying a wine from a different producer and from a different place. Still delicious, but I preferred the 2007.

Whereas the previous wines were all grown around Navarro in the cool Anderson Valley and on the east side of the mountain divide, the Zin and the Syrah were grown in the hotter Ukiah Valley, which provides the right amount of bright sun and heat to make these sun worshiping grapes ripen to their best potential.

Wine 5: 2007 Zinfandel, Mendocino
Price: $19
Color: Yup, this was from a sunny area. Plum colored with dark, rich ruby tones, I expected lots of flavor from a wine of this depth.
Smell: This was just dripping with ripe fruit. It smelled like blueberry preserves or plum pie. Dark berries and cinnamon -- who could ask for more?
Taste: Tasted just like it smelled, only fresher. I got the sensation of pulling a raspberry off the vine and eating it. It was like a blueberry coffee cake, only with pretty strong mouth-drying tannins and kind of high alcohol (14.7%).
Drink or down the sink?: This was the best Zinfandel I had while in California this time around. Even after touring the Dry Creek Valley, which is famous for Zin, and trying some outstanding examples, this little $19 bottle took the cake. Fierce.

Wine 6: 2005 Syrah, Mendocino
Price: $25
Color: This wine was showing it's age -- it had a dark ruby center, but it was lightening up to a brownish, garnet rim (remember, red wines lighten with age -- think of it like grey hair on people).
Smell: This was a little medicinal and very leathery. It smelled like wet potting soil too, and like minerals.
Taste: There was a nice sour cherry note with some coffee flavor and a smoky, toasted thing too. Although 5 years old, the wine was still raging with strong mouth-puckering tannins.
Drink or down the sink?: I can't endorse down the sink, but I will say this was my least favorite of the bunch. With the lineup as strong as it is from Navarro, it's hard to compete. This is a good, but not great wine...which is ok when it seems like everything else that comes out of this place is liquid joy!

Thanks to Navarro for being down to earth, caring about wine so much, and making affordable juice for us all to love. I highly encourage a visit up Rte 128 to their Philo tasting room -- your wallet will be lighter for the trip, but your palate richer for the experience!!! Readmore »»

Torii Mor 2009 Pinot Gris: Sadly, Just Ok

So last week I reviewed the Torii Mor Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley of Oregon, a wine that I love. Coupled with the fact that the wine is solid, the bottle has special significance because it was given to me by Margie Olson herself, the owner of Torii Mor and a very sweet and lovely woman. On this same occasion she gave me a bottle of the winery's Pinot Gris, which made me very excited because I adore Oregon Pinot Gris.

Unfortunately, this bottle fell short of expectation.

If you want to know more about Torii Mor and Oregon, please check out my post on their Pinot Noir, where I go into detail. Given that I've already been to that rodeo, I figured I'd talk about Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio, as it's also known.


To start, a couple basics on the grape:
1. It's a clone of the ever mutating Pinot Noir (read=it too, is a pain in arse to grow)
2. Given #1, it makes sense that Pinot Grigio is actually not a green grape, but a grey-blue grape
3. Pinot = Pinecone in French. Wines derived from Pinot Noir are from clusters of grapes that look like pinecones.Simple, no?
4. Gris = French for grey (see point 2)
5. Grigio = Italian for grey (see point 2, again)
6. Pinot Gris morphed from Pinot Noir in its native home of Burgundy. It was first discussed in the Middle Ages. Given its temperamental nature, it was abandoned in Burgundy and in Champagne (where it was part of the blend for bubbly) for the heartier Chardonnay.

As a side note, I'm not sure why they decided that Pinot Gris/Grigio is made as a white wine. I mean, it's really hard to prevent the juice from touching the skins and picking up color. I guess winemakers want a challenge...

7. I know I already said this, but just to be sure...Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are the same grape -- you say potato...I say pohtahtoe (phonetic spelling, of course).

The grape is super-sensitive to where it grows, and depending on where it's made it tastes like a completely different wine. You may be sick of my bullets, but I'm in the mood to keep on with my lists, so here's a little guide:

Alsace, France: Full-bodied, rich, floral, spicy, honeyed, smoky, and oily-textured wine. It jumps out of the glass with its aroma, is unctuous but with decent acid and a beautiful match for food. There's lots of sun in Alsace, and the grapes get ripe and delicious. The most complex and showstopping Pinot Gris in the world, methinks.


Oregon: Kind of like Alsace light, it can be pinkish (per my point above, hard to keep the skin away from the juice) and taste less floral and more like apple and Asian pear. The wine is at least medium-bodied and fruity and full. I'd call it a pretty wine -- aromatic and flavorful but also with decent acid so it's not flabby.


Italy: Mostly from cooler, northern Italy, this wine is lean, to say the least. It's lemony, acidic, crisp, and so mineral-like it's like face-planting in a mountain stream. It can be really thin, sometimes watery, and usually lacks the lush flavors and aromas you're going to find in Alsace and Oregon Pinot Gris. I usually find it to be insipid, crap stuff -- even if it costs $24 like one major brand we may all know. California tries to mimic this style, given its popularity.


Although I love Ramona Singer from the Real Housewives of New York and her hilarious Pinot Grigio habit, I gotta say I'm not a fan of watery, acidic, lemon juice. I prefer Pinot Gris to Pinot Grigio.

So, I was pumped for the Torii Mor Pinot Gris, given how much I loved their Pinot Noir. How surprised was I when I discovered that this wine was made in the Pinot Grigio style? Very surprised, and less than happy. Here's the rundown:

The Wine: Torii Mor Pinot Gris
Where It's From: Willamette Valley, Oregon
The Grapes: 100% Pinot Gris
Vintage: 2009
Price: $16.00

Color: Brassy but nearly white and very reflective, the color gave me pause. Most Oregon Pinot Gris that I like is saturated in color -- like straw or brass. This was much lighter than normal and way too light to have the kind of flavor I was expecting. Uh-oh.

Smell: Similar to Italian Pinot Grigio, there wasn't much but a slight white flower and lemon-lime smell. There was none of the honeysuckle, apple, or pear that I'd want or expect from a Pinot Gris. More evidence leading to a not-so-great conclusion. Where's the beef?

Taste: More like a lower quality un-oaked Chardonnay than Pinot Gris, there was a brief sensation of acid, mineral and lemon-lime with a touch of green apple, but I'd say what was in this bottle was just white wine. Could have been a $7 white blend for its lack of distinction and character. I expect more from Oregon and certainly more from a producer of fine Pinot Noir.

Food: I guess if you like Pinot Grigio from Italy, you would just chill this sucker down and sip it before a meal or have it with a salad.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Meh. Not great, not horrible. For $16 you can do a lot better. Torii Mor should take a page from some other great Pinot Gris producers in the area. In it's quest to be differentiated, it's created a style that is definitely un-Oregonian, and, to my palate, boring and blah.
Readmore »»

Delicious, Delightful Alsace Pinot Gris (Or Why I love Alsace Wines)

I am horrified by myself. How is it possible that in a year of blogging, I haven't reviewed wine from a beloved region that I recommend to everyone? I should fire myself for this gross oversight!

When I first discovered Alsace in the Boston Center for Adult Education wine class that started my love of wine, it opened the world of white wine to me. Drinking wines from Alsace for the first time was like discovering an unexpected waterfall in the middle of a forest. It was like seeing Michelangelo's David. I swear if I close my eyes when I drink this stuff I'm transported to a sensory paradise. For me, the wine of Alsace is a pinnacle of whites.

Ah, Alsace. If there was a contest to find a wine region of maximum bloodshed and conflict in Europe, this tiniest of all French wine regions would be a top contender. It's a good thing so many people appreciate it because the region has been through hell and back and it deserves recognition! Germany and France have been fighting over this wine gem for centuries. I'd love to tell you that it was because of the vineyards, but that would kind of violate my overly honest nature so I can't. It's just old-fashioned imperialism and land grab.


Why? Location, location, location. You see, poor Alsace is nestled between the Vosges Mountains on the French side and the Rhine River, Germany's pride and joy. The folks there have been part of a ping-pong match for centuries and most speak 3 languages -- German, French, and their own dialect Alsacien. You never know who may be ruling you next, so you better cover all the bases, I guess.

Taken by the Germans in both World Wars, vineyard sites were decimated and the best vines uprooted so that the luscious Riesling of the area wouldn't compete with Germany's wine crown jewel. It wasn't until Nazi Germany fell that Alsace was able to replant its best grapes on the premium, steep hillsides. And for the last 65 years things have been getting better and better. Alsace seems firmly part of France now, and Strasbourg is the seat of the EU Parliament and a very strategic, important center for European political life. It's a calmer, gentler place.

Still, I've never been there (it's high on the list), but apparently history is preserved. Dotted with tiny villages with castles and fortresses from pre-Roman days forth, wine is big business here. There are 2000 growers in the area and 90% of the wine is white. The Vosges block the rain and storms from continental France, so Alsace has a long, cool, dry growing season. The vineyards are high on hills and the whites grown here have time to ripen but not bake in the sun. The result is a style that's fat and oily (I'm not making this up), with juicy flavor but still a great dose of mineral and acid texture. It is nirvana for white.

Part of the reason I love Europe is because most of the wines are blends. That means that you get the best of all worlds because the flavors of each grape can complement the others. That said, every rule does have an exception, and Alsace is it. The Germans like to keep things very cut and dried and their influence on wine is certainly felt -- nearly all wines are labeled with the grape name, making those who are uncomfortable with European regions feel right at home.

There are a bunch of different grapes grown in Alsace, but only 8 are considered high class. Riesling (the most widely planted), Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, Chasselas and Pinot Noir are the main grapes of the region. To be honest, you really won't see any Sylvaner, Chasselas, or Pinot Noir en masse at the wine shop or on menus. These are more for domestic consumption and are secondary to the first 5 on the list. You will see Muscat, and although Pinot Blanc is bottled alone, it is also made into Cremant d'Alsace -- an amazing alternative to Champagne for a much more attractive price.

The real gems of Alsace are dry yet fantastic Riesling and Gewurztraminer (if you think of this wine as sweet, you need to seek out a dry one from Alsace. It has all of the teashop flavors with none of cloying sweetness), and unbelievable Pinot Gris. Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are the same grape, but are worlds apart in style. Where Pinot Grigio is acidic and tart with a zippy, acidic finish, Pinot Gris is...well, let me show by example and talk about Jean Albrecht.

To quote my sister, for this winery "this ain't their first rodeo." Romanus Albrecht started his vineyard in Alsace in 1425. Jean Albrecht is an 18th generation winemaker. Let that sit for a second. EIGHTEEN centuries. These folks were pioneers in the region and they have stuck it out through thick and thin to make great wine. Jean Albrecht has it in his blood and when he says his philosophy is to "respect the grape," I believe him. Here's what I think of his Pinot Gris...

The Wine: Jean Albrecht Pinot Gris Reserve
Where It's From: Alsace, France
The Grapes: 100% Pinot Gris
Vintage: 2008
Price: $18.99

Color: Seriously, this wine was the color of a saxophone. Golden and brassy and shining in my glass. I hoped this rich color (not from oak since they don't oak wines in this part of the world) meant that the wine would be rich and ripe.

Smell: Honey, honey, and more honey! Pooh Bear would be happy. Green apple, which is typical of Pinot Gris and some nuttiness overlaid with melon and jasmine tea had me salivating. MC Ice was looking at me like I was crazy because I just kept "mmmmmmmm...." -ing. A final sniff and the coup d'grace for me -- it smelled like a rocky, freshwater stream. What a contrast of fruit and mineral, and what a stunner. At this point I was so into the nose it was hard to taste the stuff. If I could smell this wine everyday, I would be in heaven. Maybe they'll make a Pinot Gris air freshener someday.

Taste: So I guess I wouldn't mind tasting it everyday either. I kid you not, this wine tastes like a pan of green and red apples, baked, with butter and honey on them and just a touch of almond liqueur. That would be good alone, but then there's this rich texture. Acid and minerals like the stream I smelled were in the backdrop and then this round, full, oily, smoother-than-satin texture just coated my mouth. It didn't hang around or cloy, because the wine is fruity but definitely not sweet (people confuse these two things but if you plug your nose and put your tongue in the wine, you'll find that your tongue senses no sweetness). Everything I'd expect from a Alsace wine and more.

Food: This was heaven with grilled halibut. The richness of the fish and the simplicity of preparation (a touch of too-old-to-drink Sauvignon Blanc, butter, lemon, and herbs with the fish allowed this pairing to shine!) was pure magic. A classic pairing is Alsace Pinot Gris with game and rich autumn stews, but I'm not going to stop drinking it because of the weather, so halibut it is for me! That and mild cheese with crackers -- killer pairings both.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Oh, I'm sure you were guessing on this one. I love it. I'm thrilled to have tried this wine and if you haven't had a wine from this part of France and you like white wines with some oomph, get this or any other from the region ASAP!

I kind of like the blog and I think some of you do too, so I'm not going to fire myself, as I posited at the beginning of this ode to Alsace, but I will make a vow to write more on Alsace. There's so much more to taste, and to share about the producers and the history of this place that I just adore.

Thanks for reading! Readmore »»