The Auswine Forum

Sauvignon blanc no longer tipple of choice as women opt for pinot grigio
Tony Love
From: news.com.au
July 05, 2012 5:45PM

DINNER party favourite sauvignon blanc is on the nose, with more Australians falling out of love with the wine that has dominated their drinking habits for the past five years.

A new great white hope is fast becoming our new tipple of choice - and it's women who are leading the charge away from sauvignon blanc to pinot grigio.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/nati ... 6418213776

It seems a little ironic to me that many who have just now decided that Sauvignon Blanc is boring are turning to Pinot Gris/Grigio of all things - just last year at the Sydney Wine Show the (unfortunate) judges of the class described what they tasted as "acres of beige".

Cheers,
Ian

I have a hot prediction for the top white wine of 2013: Ugni Blanc.

Perhaps infused with citrus and extra vitamins...

It's kind of staggering that these average Jill drinkers dance around the greatest aromatic of all - Riesling, and still don't seem to go for it, or discover it's charms. Makes you scratch your head, really...???

I like Gary Walsh's descrption of Pinot Gris - a shrug in a glass.

Viva la Riesling indeed. Every winemaker wants to make it, but no one wants to drink it.

sjw_11 wrote:I have a hot prediction for the top white wine of 2013: Ugni Blanc..

I've often thought that many Sauvignon Blancs, especially the pungent NZ-inspired ones, to be Ugly Blanc.

They are both just cordial. I've had Cottees that tastes better.

I like Rieslings as well, they just have to have several years on them.

Cheers
Ian

I tried a few Pinot Gris and found the same acres of beige and continued with riesling as preferred aromatic.

Geoff Kelly once said something along the lines of "Pinot gris is for those people who really don't like wine, but feel they should make an effort"

I think it Pinot Gris is pretty good with food...I see why people like it..but I also see why wine geeks don't.

I don't agree that either are like cordial but have heard that term used quite often in Australia to describe different types of wine... then again a lot of Aussies think Kabinett and Spatlese Riesling are dessert wines...

deleted

As long as they dont switch to semillon.

Wizz wrote:
Viva la Riesling indeed. Every winemaker wants to make it, but no one wants to drink it.

I cant stop drinking it, and just cant seem to get enough of it, particularly the aged stuff.

Im about to head out right now to a French tasting at a fellow Grapemates house themed with Tour de France and i still want to take a German Riza!

RedVelvet wrote:

Wizz wrote:
Viva la Riesling indeed. Every winemaker wants to make it, but no one wants to drink it.

I cant stop drinking it, and just cant seem to get enough of it, particularly the aged stuff.

Im about to head out right now to a French tasting at a fellow Grapemates house themed with Tour de France and i still want to take a German Riza!

Love your work Shannon

Sean wrote:I disagree too, nothing at all wrong with PG. It goes with food easily enough and the best ones can have interesting texture rather than obvious flavour. I probably prefer the drier grigio style personally and I have had some pretty decent ones from King Valley and Mornington Peninsula.

A bit silly giving a whole varietal a whack. It is still early days with PG and maybe all of us - winemakers, wine judges and wine drinkers - are on the learning curve with it. The main problem is labelling, ie getting a gris style when it says grigio on the label or getting a grigio style when it says gris on the label.

Yeah..I mean, Pinot Gris/Grigio...It is all really the same but stylistically should be different...supposedly...but because it is such cobbled mix, I can barely be bothered to try to differentiate between the two because it is such a cobbled mix.

I'm not sure it'll ever be exciting...but it has decent acidity, goes with a lot of different foods...tastes fine. It is very much like Sav blanc (even Sancerre) in that it tastes fine...and I'm perfectly happy to drink it...Even cheap Sav Blanc and PG has improved quite a bit and is very drinkable...compare that to many cheap Shiraz or Cab Sav which can be absolutely putrid. Like I said, I don't think it'll ever be exciting..it doesn't excite me at all to drink them...I don't find them terribly interesting or cerebral but not everything needs to be.

My prediction for the next popular white is....Chardonnay..sounds funny saying that but I think if they can get people to try the current style of Chardonnay that might pull some people away from SB and PG. Less oak, good acid, no/low malo, citrusy...or at least those are things I think might attract the same drinkers...My wife and some of her friends (who also funny enough like PG) have started to like the more Chablis style Chardonnay...which I think is a good thing....