Pinot-Gris

Burgundy, France

Pinot Gris, also known as Pinot Grigio in Italy and Grauburgunder in Germany, is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its name, but the colors can vary from blue-gray to pinkish-brown. The word 'pinot' could have been given to it because the grapes grow in small pinecone-shaped clusters. The wines produced from this grape also vary in color from a deep golden yellow to copper and even a light shade of pink. It is one of the more popular grapes for skin-contact wine.

Small to medium-sized, pinkish-gray berries with compact bunches.

Pinot Gris is an early variety, both in terms of starting its vegetative phase and in terms of ripening. It buds 2 days after Chasselas, the benchmark variety, and reaches full ripeness a week and a half after it, making Pinot Gris a Period I grape variety. It is a quite vigorous, yet only moderately productive grape variety. Its yields are also low (less than 60 hectoliters per hectare), enabling it to give the very best it has to offer in small quantities.