One of the perks of my job is the Friday tasting. We, as a staff, are invited to taste wine, beer, and sometimes cocktails and spirits with the sommelier staff to open up a dialogue that will hopefully enable us to learn and in turn better help our guests to find what they are looking for. It can be an incredibly constructive experience for us, and I find it helps keep some fresh ideas in my head hearing other people's opinions about wine. At yesterday's tasting, I was floored by a fantastic Pinot Grigio made by Igor Erzetik of Branko.
Unfortunately, when I see Pinot Grigio, I usually run the other way. This grape has a bad reputation amongst wine snobs because of the lakes of insipid wine that are made every vintage devoid of any varietal character or sense of place. The sad reality is that many Italian winemakers think of Pinot Grigio as a cash crop because so many Americans order it by name not really caring if it comes from Italy, France, America, or even Australia. As a varietal, it seldom receives the careful attention in the vineyard and winery that it needs to make really great wine especially in Italy.
In some ways Pinot Grigio has gone the way that Merlot did, becoming a light, easy, fruity wine that one can knock back without thinking about too much. While this may be fine for a hot Sunday afternoon by the pool, Pinot Grigio wouldn't typically be my choice for a special meal. That's why I'm so glad to have tasted the one from Branko. Perhaps, like Merlot, it is making a comeback as a candidate for making thoughtful, complex wines. Afterall, it initially became famous for a good reason.
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