Is Pinot grigio on the way out? - temp on the rise

[darby]

I'm still recovering from the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show at Mildura last week. The big surprise for me was the poor showing of the pinot gris/grigio classes, just one gold medal from over seventy entries.

Young tempranillos were the go if you are to believe the judges.

For a quick preview of some of the results see http://www.vinodiversity.com/aavws2006-results.html

Cheers

[Ian S]

Darby
Isn't this just the fashionable grape syndrome, where PG was planted to meet an immediate trend and before winemakers have worked out how to make it (or the vines have matured), the trend has moved on - mainly because the wines never quite made the grade.

I worry (well actually quite the opposite ) that the same will befall viognier. It's survival seems closely tied to it's inclusion with Shiraz, but even that trend could pass (but at least here there's some producers who have made great wine - which helps convince others to persist).

Tempranillo? I think it's got great potential in Oz, though the one I tasted at (IIRC) Vasse Felix was depressingly poor. If the market is flooded with young vine examples, with no producer able to set a good benchmark, then I suspect it could be just another passing fad.

I'm far more impressed by those that go for a lower key approach, choosing a wine they really want to make and that's good for their site - then committing to it for at least a decade. It's these folk that will make the benchmark wines IMO.

Sorry for the ramble, only part of which was related to your post.

regards

Ian

[marsalla]

The fact that pinot grigio/gris goes very close to the neutral dry white category wouldnt have much to do with it either I assume.
Viognier has much more potential, a range of styles can be made.

[darby]

I think we are past the stage when we can doubt that some of these will be around for a long time. There are over 200wineries using PG in Australia, a similar number for Viognier, sangiovese is not far behind and there are more than a hundred using tempranillo.

Ian, although you may not have seen many OZ Tempranillo's in the UK the standard in Australia is rising quite rapidly. There are still no older vineyards to see if the wines will be excellent, but there are some good starts. Podalowie from central Victoria have no trouble selling their top wine for well over $40, not bad for wine from very young vines.

Pinot G will become even bigger, driven to a large extent by Casella. they got a silver medal for their 2006 reserve Yellow tail, it's not hard to see how they sell this by the millions in the US.

[drunkenbum]

The problem with Aussie Pinot Gri, seems to be more in the winemaking side. A lot of ours appear to lean to the "soapy" flat end of the spectrum, and it is very hard to find an inspired example. This may be due to Winemakers taking a more of a Sav Blanc/Chard approach to vinification, and the general feeling that it needs some residual sugar and is more of a ladies drink. However if you try some examples from Italy, you will be very pleasantly suprised. There is a future in the variety, but we need to change our views on the style of wine we are trying to pursue.

[Craig(NZ)]

oh was it ever in is the first question!

[marsalla]

The problem with Aussie Pinot Gri, seems to be more in the winemaking side. A lot of ours appear to lean to the "soapy" flat end of the spectrum, and it is very hard to find an inspired example. This may be due to Winemakers taking a more of a Sav Blanc/Chard approach to vinification, and the general feeling that it needs some residual sugar and is more of a ladies drink. However if you try some examples from Italy, you will be very pleasantly suprised. There is a future in the variety, but we need to change our views on the style of wine we are trying to pursue.

How much of that italian pinot grigio is in fact pinot grigio, and not trebbiano, catarratto, chardonnay, pinot blanc, grillo,...............etc etc etc. There are a lot of tankers head from south to north Italy carrying neutral whites.

[drunkenbum]

Well I suppose I just have had reasonable faith in the labelling laws of Italy, and the wines I have tried, but I could be wrong!

[darby]

Pinot g is always going to have an identity problem, not just because of the name, but also because of the styles. The organisers at AAVWS split the class into crisp dry and crunchy subclasses and rich and fullbodied.

I happen to prefer the latter, if it sometimes means there is a slight sweetness to the wine all the better. I think a touch of sugar is far better than VA or aldehydes that characterise some "very dry" whites.