Wines made from Pinot gris grapes of Saone-et-Loire
Discover the best wines made with Pinot gris as a single variety or as a blend of Saone-et-Loire.
Pinot Gris is a grey grape variety mutated from Pinot Noir. It has its origins in Burgundy, where it is called pinot-beurot in reference to the colour of the grey robes worn by the monks of the region. Established in Alsace since the 17th century, pinot gris was called tokay until 2007. It is made up of bunches of small berries that vary in colour from pink to blue-grey. It is particularly well suited to the continental climate because it is resistant to the cold in winter and to spring frosts. This variety also likes dry limestone soils with plenty of sunshine in the summer. Pinot Gris is well suited to late harvesting or to the selection of noble grapes, depending on the year and the concentration of sugars in the berries. Pinot Gris wines are distinguished by their aromatic complexity of white fruits, mushrooms, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, etc., and their great finesse. In the Loire Valley, pinot gris is used in the Coteaux-d'Ancenis appellations. It gives dry or sweet wines with pear and peach aromas.
Saône-et-Loire is the PGI title for wines produced in the administrative department of the same name in Southern Burgundy. The department is best known for its AOC classified Vineyards and villages in the Côte Chalonnaise and Mâcon, but the PGI has yet to relax the winemaking laws for producers. That said, the Grape varieties allowed in the PGI laws are definitely Burgundian. Pinot Noir, Gamay and Chardonnay are joined by the lesser known grapes of Auxerrois, Sauvignon Blanc and Caesar.
A ‘Goliath’ 27-litre bottle of Sine Qua Non’s highly prized The Inaugural Syrah from the 2003 vintage provided the centrepiece for a charity event organised by The Legacy Cellar Foundation. Robert M. Parker Jr, the famous wine critic who retired from The Wine Advocate in 2019, donated the ‘unicorn’ bottle in order to help raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which is marking its 60th anniversary. Held at a private residence in Bel Air on 14 May, 60 guests paid ...
When I started my nomadic winemaking project, in 2018 at Niepoort Vinhos in Portugal’s Douro region, I had no idea how large a part Spain would go on to play – I certainly never intended to make it the locus of my project. So how did it happen? Yes, there was an element of chance and taking opportunities where they arose. But also, among the talented winemakers to whom I pitched collaborations, I sensed an openness and a readiness to collaborate which seemed particular to Spain. Held in June las ...
Annual domestic gas bills in the UK threaten to rival, in craziness, the price of a box of Bordeaux first growths. Those energy costs have sent the price of almost everything else ripping up after them. Is there, um, anything to be said for cheap wine? There is. First, though, we must sip the bitter harvest of alcohol taxes. These are high in the UK and higher still in Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand and India; they tend to vary by state in the US and by province in Canada, and in general th ...