A Tour of Wine Grapes: Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris 🥂 Photo by Andrew Fogg on Wikimedia Commons Pinot Gris is a natural color mutation of the famous red wine grape, Pinot Noir. They are genetically identical, except Pinot Gris has a pinkish-gray skin. It originated in the Burgundy region of France during the Middle Ages. In 1375, it was exported to Hungary by Cistercian monks at the request of Emperor Charles IV. The monks planted it along Lake Balaton, where it was nicknamed the "Grey Monk" ( Szürkebarát ). It eventually traveled to Switzerland and Northern Italy, where its popularity skyrocketed 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. This convention is widely used in Europe, notably in Italian where it is called Pinot Grigio . Even though the Pinot Gris grape has dark skin it produces a white wine. If the winemaker were to leave the juice sittin

by Marc Kirkpatrick · source ↗