What if you could blend your own Pinot Grigio? (#ItalianFWT)

Welcome, 2021! Perfect time to think about arguably the world’s most pressing problem – climate change – and renew a commitment to living and drinking sustainably.

For the first Italian Food, Wine and Travel post of the new year, the assignment from Jen at Vino Travels was to choose a favorite Italian red or white for 2021. We’ll be chatting about our faves on Saturday, Jan. 2. You’re invited to join us, starting at 8 am PT/11 am ET, by following the #ItalianFWT hashtag.

Of course, that’s a wide-open challenge, and most wine aficionados can rattle off the usual suspects: Sangiovese (e.g., Chianti Classico, Brunello), Nebbiolo (e.g., Barbaresco, Barolo), Vermentino – the list goes on. So why did I choose popular Pinot Grigio?

A forward-thinking producer

Flashback to earlier this year when the topic for this group was sustainability and climate change. I focused on Alois Lageder, a family-owned, Alto Adige producer. Alois Lageder has converted 100% of its own 135-acre estate to certified organic and biodynamic farming and is working on the same goal with their approximately 80 partner growers. You can read more about their viticultural approach in my post.

Alois Lageder is thinking a lot about global warming these days, in particular, what the future holds for a cold-climate white grape like Pinot Grigio whose traditional home lies in this northeastern corner of Italy.

As the producer explains in their “Wine and Climate Change” video, Pinot Grigio tends to lose some of its freshness when the climate heats up. There are steps they can take in the vineyard to retain acidity, such as planting at higher elevations or harvesting grapes before they fully ripen. Another option is to ferment some percentage of the grapes on their skins. Through contact with skins and stems, tannins increase slightly, “which helps the tension, liveliness and freshness of the wine to be perceived differently.”

I tasted my first skin-contact or “orange” wine at Anthony Road in the New York Finger Lakes. Winemaker Peter Becraft finds a bit of tannin focuses the varietal expression of grapes. His 2017 Skin Ferment Pinot Gris is textured and savory with layers of complexity – and changed my mind about this grape.

So I was super-excited to read about Alois Lageder’s “Blend your own PORER” Pinot Grigio blending kit that gives consumers a chance to experiment with various levels of skin-contact wine. I immediately reached out last fall to request one. Luckily, some of these kits were still left.

Please note that while the wine and samples for this post were provided, opinions are my own.

Blending our own Pinot Grigio

The blending kit contains three, 120-ml Pinot Grigio samples: the first one was pressed immediately; the second was kept in contact with the skins for a short time (15 hours); the third was pressed “whole cluster” and left on the skins for approximately eight months. A bottle of Alois Lageder’s PORER Pinot Grigio was also included in the kit. In the instruction booklet, the producer explains the concept behind their own blend:

“PORER Pinot Grigio consists of up to 20 different components. These are the 3 main components we blended. The idea is to increase the perception of freshness. It’s a complex Pinot Grigio – with many layers – that varies from year to year, depending on the vintage and our feeling.”

The spouse and I figured out the math and determined we’d have enough wine for three experimental blends and a final product.

• Blend #1: 60% direct pressed, 20% short skin contact, 30% long skin contact.
  My tasting notes: Apricot in color. Apricot and slightly overripe peach on the nose. Palate is slightly astringent (grippy) from increased tannins, pleasantly tart, with apricot and a hint of grapefruit. Medium+ acidity. Medium+ finish.
• Blend #2: 20% direct pressed, 60% short skin contact, 20% long skin contact.
  My tasting notes: Copper in color. Dried and candied fruit on the nose. Grippier palate than Blend #1 with a sherry-like quality. Medium+ acidity. Medium+ finish.
• Blend #3: 20% direct pressed, 20% short skin contact, 60% long skin contact.
  My tasting notes: Pale orange in color. Peach and apricot on the nose, but not as fresh as the first blend. Ultra-grippy palate with bitter taste of grapefruit pith and rind. Medium+ acidity. Medium+ finish.
• Final blend: 70% direct pressed, 10% short skin contact, 20% long skin contact.
  My tasting notes: Pale orange in color. Fresh apricot with a bit of honeyed aroma. Still too grippy and slightly bitter on the palate. Medium+ acidity. Medium+ finish.

It was a fun experiment to blend our own skin-contact Pinot Grigio. Clearly, small percentages of skin contact were enough to change our perception of the wine. But hey, we’re amateurs. Let’s move on to what the professional winemakers put together.

2018 Alois Lageder PORER Pinot Grigio
65% direct pressed, 20% short skin contact, 15% long skin contact
Certified organic and Demeter-certified biodynamic wine

My tasting notes: Gold in color. Fresh apricot and slightly overripe peach aromas. Just the right amount of grip with apricot and ripe grapefruit on a flinty palate. Medium+ acidity. Medium+ finish. Alcohol: 12.5%. Average price: $25.

Suggested pairing: Creamy risotto is possibly the best pairing for this skin-contact Pinot Grigio. Buttery, starchy rice offsets the tannin in this wine. With the risotto, there’s no longer any grip – just smoothed-out, balanced and complementary flavors. I made a shrimp risotto based on a recipe by Chef Silvia Baldini. You can find her@silviabaldinistrawberryandsage.

With skin contact to add dimension and a pairing to make it sing, Pinot Grigio doesn’t seem ordinary any longer. My favorite Italian grape? Uh… I’ll get back to you.

Find out all the bloggers’ picks by clicking on the links below:

• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm featured ;A Lovely Bottle of Taurasi paired with a Delicious Meal of Beef Tips Marsala.
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles served up Bacon and Butternut Pasta with a Langhe DOC Nebbiolo.
• Susannah at Avvinare was ;Taking a Closer Look at Vernaccia di San Gimignano.
• Camilla at the Culinary Adventures with Camilla was ;Capping off the Old Year with Cappelleti in Brodo + G.D. Vajra Barolo Albe 2016.
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest showcased how ;Lagrein Reigns in Alto Adige.
• Terri at Our Good Life cooked up An Italian favorite: Chianti Classico with Baked Salmon and Stuffed Mushroom Caps.
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass asked ;What If You Could Blend Your Own Pinot Grigio?
• Li at The Wining Hour was ;Keeping it Fresh and Fun with Fiano.
• Cindy at Grape Experiences brought us on ;A Return to Piemonte with Marenco Scrapona Moscato d’Asti 2019 and Bagna Cauda.
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator was ;Going with Lugana.
• Katarina at Grapevine Adventures shared 3 Wines to Get 2021 off on the Right Foot.
• Jen, our host, at Vino Travels was Starting the New Year off Right with Chianti Classico.