The trick to finding actually good pinot grigio
Most pinot grigio comes from the Italian region known as "Tre Venezie." Better pinot grigio is more likely to be found from a more specific region, like this one, from the Valdadige D.O.C.
Barone Fini Pinot Grigio
Valdadige, Italy
$11.59 12.5% alcohol
PLCB Item #3501
Sale price through Aug. 31; regularly $14.59
Italian pinot grigio is wildly popular in the United States — no other category of imported still wine rivals its sales volume. Almost all of it comes from the three regions of northeastern Italy that are collectively known as the “Tre Venezie.” The bulk of this wine was once labeled under the regional name of Venezie, a vast generic appellation covering most of the Italian terrain located north of Venice and east of Milan. However, if you’re aiming to find pinot grigio of higher quality, it’s worth seeking out wines from that zone’s smaller subregions, as with this example made from fruit grown in the Valdadige D.O.C.
Pinot grigio has a subtle flavor profile that tends to evoke crisp apples or pears, but the cheapest mass-market Venezie bottlings can taste quite bland. As a general rule in the world of wine, smaller named regions of origin suggest wines of higher quality. They also tend to produce wines that have more distinctiveness of character, thanks to more consistency of terrain and climate. Valdadige is 10 times smaller than Venezie, with less than 3,000 acres of vineyards. All are located in the foothills and ski valleys of the Italian Alps, where a cool and drawn-out growing season yields delicate light-bodied wines that are nonetheless quite concentrated in flavor. Venezie’s bargain wines are often a little watery and lower-lying premium subregions like Friuli can make pinot grigios that feel much heavier and chardonnay-like, but the mountain appellations of Valdadige and Alto Adige reliably deliver wines like this one that are refreshing and understated but not under-flavored, tasting of crisp Asian pears and Fuji apples with a touch of bracing minerality.
Also available at:
Wine Warehouse in Sicklerville, $9.99
sicklerville.winewarehousenj.com/
Total Wine & More in Wilmington and Claymont, $11.59
Canal’s in Mt. Ephraim, $11.99