It's a question we get asked a lot in the store: "What's the difference between Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio?" Well, here is a little guide to help you choose your poison!
The short answer is that they are the same grape. They are the French (Gris) and Italian (Grigio) names for a pink grape belonging to the Pinot family alongside its siblings Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc (or Nero and Bianco if you're Italian).
So what's the difference?
Let's start with the Pinot Gris of France:
Typically, the French leave their grapes on the vine a little longer. This means riper fruit at the time of picking, which means more sugar, which translates to higher alcohol wine with some weight to it. Grapes left on the vine longer also tend to lose a little acid, which contributes to the rich and luscious nature of quality Gris.
This is the style to reach for if you're after beautiful white flowers on the nose and ripe stone fruit, rockmelon and almonds. They're often elegant and complex, and while cheaper wines might be lacking in complexity, they are often viscous and luscious.
Pinot Gris is a rarely used accessory grape in Burgundy and Champagne, but the best French Pinot Gris comes from the Eastern France region of Alsace. The best examples of Gris here improve significantly with a little bit of age.
Look for producers like Trimbach and Mader.
What about the Pinot Grigio of Italy?
The Italians pick their grapes earlier. Earlier harvest means less ripe grapes, which means less sugar, which means lower alcohol. Grape growers often use acidity to gauge when to pick, with the harvest kicking off when acid in the grape peaks. This translates to a fresh, vibrant, racy and minerally wine with more austere flavours usually limited to a little bit of stone fruit, pears and maybe green apple.
This is the style to reach for during your next barbecue, picnic, family gathering or whatever occasion. It's fun, fresh and befitting of getting a little bit tipsy (responsibly, of course) in the sun.
Italian Pinot Grigio is most commonly found in the northern Alpine areas of Alto Adige, Trentino, Veneto and Friuli. A little pointer: Alto Adige is a German-speaking part of Italy, so occasionally you might see it labelled with the German grape name Grauburgunder.
Look for producers like Jermann, Franz Haas and Erste und Neue for something a little better than just a quaffer.
Wait a minute, I don't live in Europe and I see both Gris and Grigio!
While France and Italy might be bound by linguistic jingoism when it comes to their wine labels, Australia, New Zealand and the USA are not. The result is producers using the label to hint at the style they're trying to produce.
While Pinot Gris is grown all over Australia, it is Victoria where the grape took hold. Mornington Peninsula winemaker Kathleen Quealy and her husband Kevin McCarthy were champions of the grape when they founded T'Gallant in the 1990s. They sold their share in that company long ago and now operate Quealy Winemakers where they set the benchmark for Australian Pinot Gris. You'll also find exceptional Peninsula Gris from Moorooduc Estate, Garagiste and Ten Minutes By Tractor to name a few.
There are crisp, fresh wines in the Northeast Victorian region of King Valley. Wines here are typically labelled Pinot Grigio, with the cool Alpine climate lending itself to high-acid, less-ripe grapes. Another excellent producer to note is Tasmania's Pooley with an elegant and textural example of quality Pinot Grigio.
Fun fact: The English word for Gris or Grigio is "Grey", but "Pinot Grey" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
What colour do you think Pinot Gris grapes are?
It might surprise you to learn that Pinot Gris is not actually a white grape. In fact scroll back to the top of this page and you'll see a bucket of Pinot Gris from the Mornington Peninsula's Moorooduc Estate. This means with a little bit of skin contact during fermentation (very simply: use red winemaking techniques to get colour, tannin and flavour compounds from the skins into the wine) you can end up with beautiful, aromatic wines with a hint of tannin and a whole heap of spice.
These wines are difficult to put in a box. Visually they tend to look like a rosé. Structurally they can be a little more like orange wines. In some cases they are essentially very light coloured red wines. Regardless, they are well worth your attention.
Check out examples of these wines from Moorooduc Estate on the Mornington Peninsula, Valli in the New Zealand region of Central Otago and for perhaps the world's finest example of skin contact Pinot Grigio, look to the pioneering Trentino winemaker Elisabetta Foradori from the Italian Alps.
What is a Gris or Grigio going to cost me?
Quality Peninsula Pinot Gris typically run around the $AU40 mark - some a little higher, some a little lower. French Gris is a similar price, although there are some very high quality wines closer to $80 and Grand Cru Alsatian wines can reach the hundreds. Italian Pinot Grigio tends to run a little cheaper in the $20-$30 range, but if $40-$50 is in your budget you'll be getting some pretty special stuff. Jermann and Foradori start to push higher. These are specialised producers producing something truly unique.
Okay you've sold me, how do I get my hands on some of this?
I'm so glad you asked! Check out what Gris and Grigios we have in stock right here. Following this post, I'll make sure I add a whole bunch more for you to choose from in the next week or so.
Can't decide what to drink? Try this:
Want something crisp for summer drinks? Italian Pinot Grigio.
Want something rich and luscious for dinner? French Pinot Gris.
Love supporting local? Mornington Peninsula Pinot Gris.
Feeling adventurous? Try something with skin contact.
What am I drinking? Well we try to make sure the shop only has good wines so you can swing a cat and hit something nice, but I have been writing this while sitting in the shop on a stunningly beautiful Spring afternoon that has inspired me to take home a bottle of 2025 Erste und Neue Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige in the Italian Alps, so if you're still paralysed by choice, grab yourself one of those!
As always, feel free to give us a call on (03) 9787 3646, shoot us an e-mail at shop@finewinemerchant.com.au or if you're down on the Mornington Peninsula drop in to see us in the Mount Eliza village.
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