Friday, January 14, 2011

WHITE WINE....a wine I forget to blog about

glass white wine pino noir grape,pinot grigio grape










I know I ramble on & on about red wine all the time. So I mustn't forget to keep updated on some whites. Let's talk about pinot gris versus pinot grigio. They actually are the same white grape but share the same name. In Italy & California it is known as pinot grigio and in Oregon & France it is pinot gris.Other regions in the world also use the names interchangeably. The pinot grigio grape is actually a mutation of the grape varietal pinot noir, which is in fact red. Pino Blanc is not the same and pinot grigio or pino gris....it is a further mutation of the same grape. So....we are drinking mutations? Does not sound so good! But it does taste soooooo good! I have learned that most pinot grigio wines are created in Italy. The Italian version is dry, not sweet and you might taste the mineral content in it. Californian versions will have a lemony taste, be a bit richer in taste but you will still have the mineral traces. French pinot gris are more fruity & flowery than the Italian versions. They will taste peachy or melony but still have the mineral aroma about them. Some experts believe the pinot noir grape will make the finest wine in the world. It grows best in cool climates and is a difficult grape to grow and make into wine. Since it is such a hard grape to grow possibly this is how the mutations came about. This is something I will need to further learn about and research.
I love looking at the pictures of the grape varieties. It takes me back to being a child and sitting on Poppa Donne's lap under his grape arbor and leaning my head on his huge chest, my long hair blowing in the breeze across my tiny face and gazing up at the huge deep purple grapes hanging from the vines above my head and feeling so safe as I listened to Poppa's talk of his days on the farm when he was a young boy in Italy. I had a happy childhood....it is a good memory I hold dear to my heart and glad to have had. Yes....life should always be so sweet!
Cheers!

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