A 20-year love affair
The runaway popularity of pinot gris shows no sign of abating. With pinot gris, as with sauvignon blanc and pinot noir, wine-growers have discovered a classic variety that, overall, performs better here than in Australia.
Our love affair with pinot gris began 20 years ago, just at the right time to pick up that period’s ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) consumers. Good pinot gris even has some chardonnay-like traits: mouthfilling body, gentle acidity and subtle, peachy flavours.
The problem is that pinot gris can easily be boring. Some winegrowers see it as “like working with white paint on a white background”.
A key issue is that pinot gris has a tendency to overcrop, yielding unripe, dilute wines. Small crops are needed to build the concentrated, ripe stone-fruit and spice flavours of fine pinot gris.
Askerne Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2021
Full of personality, this is an Alsace-style wine that’s sturdy, rich and
