Pinot gris is a teenage mutant grape that appeared in Europe in the Middle Ages. Most scientists agree that pinot gris - a white wine variety - morphed from pinot noir, which accounts for the blue-greyish cast found on the skin of its grapes. The word 'gris' means 'grey' in French (in Italy, the wine is known as pinot grigio).
While pinot grigio and pinot gris are the same grape variety, France and Italy produce this white wine in distinctly different styles. Pinot gris is primarily from Alsace and is significantly fuller, rounder and fruitier than northern Italy's lean, minerally and bracing pinot grigio. New world producers followed suit, choosing to use the varietal name that most resembled their style, depending on where and under what conditions the grape was grown. In the United States, most Californian makers produce simple, minerally, light styles labelled pinot grigio whereas the riper peachy, melon and pear flavours being produced by Oregon winemakers are labelled pinot gris.
New Zealand shows little of this schizophrenia, with most wineries producing intense, luscious, full-flavoured pinot gris that is now the third-most planted white-wine variety in the country, following chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.
Escarpment Vineyards pinot gris 2008, Martinborough, New Zealand
Soft, ripe yellow apples and gentle spice. Apple pie and peach spice coat the palate with round, generous texture. Flavoursome and lengthy, with excellent balance.
Available for HK$235 at ThreeSixty (tel: 2111 4480)