Here we go, go, go…

Last year, on September 8th, I wrote about our double-gold winning ’16 Pinot Grigio, and here I am, almost exactly one year later, writing about the release of the new 2017. Once again, Jason and Brian’s forecasting skills are uncanny.

Anyway, the 2017 is a lovely, delicate wine. Before we take a more in-depth look, however, let’s review the history of this very old grape.

 Modern day Pinot Grigio dates back to the middle ages in Burgundy, where it was most likely known as Fromenteau. It was a color mutation of Pinot Noir, and aside from color they have extremely similar DNA. “Pinot” means pine cone, and is a reference to the shape of the clusters. In the 1300s, it was taken to Switzerland, and later to Alsace, Italy, and Germany.

This grape has many monikers. In Alsace, she (to me it’s a very feminine grape) is known as Pinot Gris, while in Germany it’s known as Rulander or Grauburgunder (grey burgundy). We know her best from northeast Italy where she hangs out in Veneto and Trentino as Pinot Grigio.

Here at Grape Creek, we know her affectionately as P.P. Grigio. She was the unsung hero of our beloved Grape Creek Clusters when she pinch hit the legendary, “shot heard ‘round the world”, to beat the hated Napa Valley Nobodies in Game 7 of the Grapevine League World Series a few years ago.

Now, back to the delightful 2017 Pinot, which should be released in the tasting room this Saturday. It is a textbook, old world Italian-style wine, and the color is a brilliant pale yellow with a crystal clear rim. It shows bright tropical aromas of pineapple, tangerine, lemon, lime, and subtle hints of coconut and almond.

The palate is well-integrated, with delicate fruit flavors up front, complimented by a brisk acidity that transitions the wine into a long, beguiling finish. An austere, flinty minerality contributes to a discriminatingly simple yet complex wine.

Let’s serve this around 45-48 degrees; any colder and the acidity will mask the lovely tropical fruit aromas and flavors. This wine would be wonderful with some flash-fried panko-crusted shrimp accented with a velvety lemon-cream sauce accompanied by spaghettini or capellini.

We’ll see you on the flip-side…