Collin Flatt finds another steal in the PLCBÂ during these waning days of summer, a Pinot Grigio.
As we near the graduation from hot days to cool, I find myself slamming back as much white wine as my gullet will allow. Much maligned in the ‘wine drinking’ population, a well structured white is as useful a tool for food pairing as any ruby juice, and usually much more agile. If you own the mantra ‘I only drink red’, lose it.
Today, consumers are drinking more ‘naked’ white than ever. A term that reflects the process of leaving wine unoaked, or only spending time in neutral oak, ‘naked’ wines allow the fruit to sing without the interference of winemakers fearing flawed berries. Moving away from syrupy sweet, vanilla flavored white wine displays a maturation of the American palate. Welcome to the show, mofos. Love it raw.
Pinot Grigio aka Pinto Gris, directly translates to ‘gray pinecone’, referring to the appearance of the bunches on the vine. A kissing cousin to Pinot Noir, owning the same structure and acidity, she’s not as troublesome to raise and needs half the attention. She’ll slake your thirst and set the table for raw seafood, tiny forks and all.
Luna Vineyards take on Pinto Grigio is the best our PLCB has to offer. Value priced and of high quality, Luna has thrown us the most amazing/interesting winecurveballs in recent memory. Their Canto is a superb blend of Sangiovese and Merlot, and the currently available Freakout is a massive mashup of Chard, Sauv Blanc, Grigio, and seldom used Ribolla Gialla. A mouthful to say engineered in perfect harmony.
Their solo varietal Pinot Grigio is a showcase of perfect fruit, bareass as the day she was born, a natural beauty. She looks best in a big t-shirt you own, an adorable mess the morning after. She’ll never need time to put on her face. Fluent in French and Italian, she has complexity with depth to spare.
The bottle opens up with aromas of melon and underripe pear, spilling out a light straw color across rounded crystal. A few swirls are necessary to let the rest of her figgy goodness breathe character into the closed nose. Don’t chill her too much or she’ll stay shy and subtle, keeping to herself. Works beautifully with shellfish, and light sauces on veal and turkey. Her zesty flavors bring a simple brightness to otherwise pedestrian food. Avoid tomato bases and spicy foods as the abrupt acidity will tag team your salivary glands. Drooling is not a good look. Her body is lean and light, she runs 5 times a week.
Price point of this bottle is around $10 in the Chairman’s Selection. The PLCB has a good connection with the folks at Luna, a very lucky turn for all of us. The Pinot Grigio is in very long supply alongside the earlier mentioned Freakout, and you can’t go wrong with either. Do not confuse Luna Vineyards with Luna di Luna, as there is a huge difference in quality. Buy a bunch of this before pumpkin carvin’ time. It’ll last you through the winter and all the shrimp cocktail you can handle. The PLCB code is 018096.
–Collin Flatt
Collin Flatt is a former Beer Pong champ turned oenophile. Collin Flatt spends his tax refunds on wine. Collin Flatt has his Bachelor’s Degree in drinking and is getting his Master’s Degree in winemaking. Collin Flatt is working on an Arctic Splash Cuvee. Collin Flatt writes about wine for Phoodie.info.
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Yay, Pinot Gris! Thanks, Collin.