Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Goldilocks on Pinot Grigio

Remember the children's story of Goldilocks and the three bears? She wanders into a cabin and finds three bowls of porridge. The first is too hot. The next is too cold. The third, however, is "just right."

I often feel like Goldilocks when tasting Pinot Grigio. Some of them are too bitter. Some of them are too sweet. Some, too tart. Some of them are too fruity. Why are wines made with this grape so often out of balance?

If you're looking for a nicely balanced Pinot Grigio, look for a bottle of the 2007 Swanson Pinot Grigio from the Napa Valley. ($13-$22) Though it costs a bit more, it is very good QPR and worth every penny. Expect bitter lemon aromas, accented by a bit of blood orange. The flavors are nicely creamy yet still citrusy, like lemon curd. This wine is poised between fruit, acidity, lushness, and bitterness.

As Goldilocks would say: "Just right."

Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample.

4 comments:

Miss Go Lightly said...

Splendid analogy! Thank you for the suggestion :)

KW said...

Loved your blogs this month. Esp. appreciate your recommendation for a Pinot Grigio, which my SV-loving household usually avoids for just the Goldilocks challenge you mention. Thanks!

gih said...

hhhmm.. Seems not too expensive. But never taste it.

Anonymous said...

Hi Deb. Love your site. Yes, it's cheap and decent, but I personally dislike the flavor of Swanson Pinot Grigio. It tastes very uncharacteristic to its style and doesn't have anything exciting going on.

I have a good bottle for you to check out. 2008 Louis Prieure Pinot-Chardonnay from Languedoc, France. Unbelievably, it's only $8 and while not terribly complex, I was amazed by the good flavor for the price.

Cheers!