Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio wines and their flavours

Originally from Burgundy, on Italian soil Pinot Grigio has found huge global success. Even the most inexpensive Pinot Grigios are easy to drink and food-friendly. Simple Pinot Grigios have muted flavours of green apple and lemon.

To find high-quality Pinot Grigio wines, you need to go off the beaten track. The Alpine vineyards of Alto Adige and the eastern Friuli hills are famous for high quality Pinot Grigios. Here, you can find more nuanced wines with delicate flavours of ripe apples, quince, guava, pear and elderflower. Oak-aged versions will have additional complex notes of ginger and honey.

Read our “Essential Guide to Pinot Grigio”…

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Essential Guide to Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio in the Official Registry

Registration Code: 194

Official name: PINOT GRIGIO G.

Official permitted synonyms: RULANDER (only in Trentino Alto Adige), PINOT GRIS (only for export), PINOT (only for sparkling wines), GRAUER BURGUNDER, GRAUBURGUNDER
The grape has been registered in the official MiPAAF Registro Varietà since 1970. [1]

Other synonyms: Malvoisie (used in Valle d’Aosta) [5].

Pinot Grigio vs Pinot Grigio Riserva

Pinot Grigio Riserva is the top quality level of Pinot Grigio. It is very rare, with only a few wineries venturing to produce these age-worthy white wines. For example, in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2021 competition, only three out of 120 winners were Pinot Grigio Riservas. They include Marco Felluga (Collio DOC, Friuli Venezia Giulia), Mezzacorona (Trentino DOC, Trentino Alto Adige), and Peter Zemmer (Alto Adige DOC, Trentino Alto Adige).

NB: If you want to try an award-winning example of this wine, you can find Peter Zemmer Pinot Grigio Riserva in our online wine shop.

Where Pinot Grigio wine is made

Pinot Grigio is among the most important grapes in the Tre Venezie (Three Venices) region:

in Veneto, Pinot Grigio is the third most planted grape, found in 12% of vineyards
in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Pinot Grigio is the number one grape, covering 21% of vineyards
in the Alpine region of Trentino, it’s the second most-planted grape, with 27% of the region’s area under this vine.

Outside of Italy’s north-east, Pinot Grigio is grown in small quantities. It’s nowhere near in terms of importance, however.

Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia are the leaders in mass-produced still Pinot Grigio wine. Of course, a small number of wineries produce high-quality wine within those denominations. But it’s safe to say that the bulk of production is easy-drinking, simple wine made to satisfy thirsty export markets.

Eastern hills of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino Alto Adige are known to produce more complex versions of Pinot Grigio wine. Some of them are age-worthy wines, produced by ageing in oak barrels. Such wines offer very complex flavours.

Delle Venezie DOC

Delle Venezie DOC is Italy’s most important denomination specifically focussing on Pinot Grigio. It was created in 2016, covering large parts of Veneto, Trentino and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Since the denomination includes Friuli, it has the second official name in Slovenian: Beneških okolišev.

As of 2019, Delle Venezie DOC has a huge area under vine of 9,545 hectares, and an annual production of about 1.2 million hectolitres. Equivalent to about 155 million bottles, it’s more wine than made in the whole region of Lombardia (147 million bottles).

Regulations for Delle Venezie allow harvest of 18 tonnes of grapes per hectare, which is quite high. Large harvests promotes the production of high volumes of lower-quality wine (high quality DOC denominations limit harvests to 10-13 tonnes).

The regular wine, labelled Delle Venezie Pinot Grigio DOC must have at least 85% Pinot Grigio. It can be supplemented by 15% other grapes, including Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Muller Thurgau, Garganega, Verduzzo and Friulano. The regulations will soon allow Sauvignon Blanc in the blend as well, but not before 2027.

Delle Venezie Bianco DOC is a blend of at least 50% Pinot Grigio, with added Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Muller Thurgau, Garganega, Verduzzo or Friulano.

A sparkling version – Pinot Grigio spumante – can be produced as well.

Trentino DOC

The denomination of Trentino DOC can be found north of Lake Garda, in the central part of the Alpine region of Trentino. The famous Dolomite Alps form its eastern border. Pinot Grigio is the most important grape of this denomination, accounting for 29% of all vineyard area (about 2,000 hectares) [3].

Trentino DOC’s Pinot Grigio wines are fresh and light, and they have been highly successful on the market. We estimate that the denomination produces about 11 million bottles of this wine each year.

Alto Adige DOC

Moving north from Trentino, we arrive at the Alpine region of Alto Adige. Pinot Grigio is the no.2 grape grown in Alto Adige DOC (after Schiava), and the no.1 white grape. It covers 11.9% of the vineyard area [4]. Almost six million bottles of Pinot Grigio wines are produced here each year, and most of that is exported to German-speaking markets.

Thanks to the Alpine growing conditions, this region’s Pinot Grigio wines have higher acidity and more intense aromas compared to grapes grown on the plains. Protected by mountain ranges, Alto Adige has a dry continental climate with 300 days of sunshine per year. Ora del Garda – the breeze from Lake Garda – cools down vineyards each afternoon. Vineyards are planted on both the valley floor and on the mountains at 300-800 metres. The temperature difference between hot days and cool nights helps grapes to develop more complex aromas.

Alto Adige predominantly makes Pinot Grigio wines in a clean, crisp style, with elegant aromas. Barrel-aged Alto Adige Pinot Grigio Riserva wines are produced as well.

Friuli Grave DOC

Friuli Grave DOC is a denomination for fresh and fruity Pinot Grigio wines. It covers large, gravelly flatlands in the centre of Friuli. Most wines are made for easy-drinking and labelled “Friuli Grave Pinot Grigio DOC”. Since the harvest control is tighter than in Delle Venezie (max. 13 tonnes vs. 18 tonnes per hectare), winemakers have to select better grapes, and ultimately produce better quality wines.

In addition, wineries are allowed to produce Superiore versions (Friuli Grave Pinot Grigio Superiore DOC). In this case, the maximum harvest cannot exceed 10 tonnes per hectare.

Collio DOC and hills of Eastern Friuli

Collio DOC is one of the largest denominations of Friuli. Its wines were well-known in the Roman Empire and are very highly regarded ever since. Pinot Grigio is Collio’s most widely planted grape – other permitted grapes include Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Sauvignon and Malvasia Istriana.

Collio is located within the province of Gorizia, on the hills leading to the Slovenian border. The soils are rich in sandstone and calcareous marls, and locally are called “ponca”. Harvests are controlled even further, with no more than 11 tonnes per hectare allowed [1].

Here, single-varietal Pinot Grigio wines are produced in the Alsatian style, with a fuller body and richer flavours.

Valle d’Aosta DOC

In Valle d’Aosta, Pinot Grigio is not (always) called Pinot Gris – it goes under the regional name: Malvoisie. This tiny north-western region is locked between sky-high mountain ranges, just east of Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc).

In terms of volume, the whole Valle d’Aosta region makes 100 times less wine than the gigantic Delle Venezie DOC. But it makes up for this by doing something absolutely special. In Valle d’Aosta’s Central Valley, around the small town of Nus, you will find Nus Malvoisie Fletri. It can be translated as Pinot Grigio Passito – sweet wine made from air dried Pinot Grigio grapes. This wine is age-worthy, and can be cellared for years.

Nus also produces dry Mavloisie white wine, in a light and aromatic style.

Pinot Grigio Production Statistics

Pinot Grigio became highly successful during the 1990s and 2000s, and during this time the area planted with Pinot Grigio doubled every ten years.

Pinot Grigio area under vine in Italy (hectares) — Pinot Grigio area under vine in Italy (hectares), MiPAAF

That said, it's not a new grape on Italian soil. Even before the 1970s, it was planted on around a thousand hectares. By 2010, Pinot Grigio vineyards reached 17,291 hectares. Now it’s Italy’s fifth most planted white grape, after Glera [1].

Sources:

[1] MiPAAF (1970-2010)

[2] ISMEA (2019)

[3] Consorzio Vini del Trentino (2014)

[4] Consorzio Südtirol Wein / Vini Alto Adige (1978-2019)

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