This week, reviewer Mark Henderson samples pinot gris - a variety growing in popularity and an important part of the wine industry.
The New Zealand Wine Growers vineyard register 2015-18 arrived in my inbox recently. I may be neither a statistician nor a mathematician, but I enjoyed having a burrow into the facts and figures within as it gives a real "state of the play'' of our local industry.
The plantings of all varieties are mapped out by region, and ranked nationally for both the current and previous year, with forecasts for the two years ahead. You can see where things stand, and spot any developing trends.
I noted how important pinot gris has become to our industry. Virtually a bit player 20 years ago, it now ranks as our fourth-most planted variety (after sauvignon blanc, pinot noir and chardonnay).
With 2445ha planted in 2016 it now represents 7% of our total vineyard area and has become an important part of our exports. Closer to home in Otago, pinot gris is second only to pinot noir and comprises 11.6% of the local vineyard area.
Pinot gris is perhaps best known in Alsace in France but there are considerably larger plantings in Italy (where it is known as pinot grigio) and Germany (Grauburgunder) along with large plantings in Austria, Hungary, Moldova and many other eastern European nations. It is also a key player in Oregon in the US.
It is quite distinctive in the vineyard with its peachy, browny-grey skins and gives a wine that is generally fragrantly perfumed with its typical stonefruit notes, soft acidity and good weight.
It began to supplant chardonnay among the general public at the end of the 1990s, sharing a soft richness, yet rarely with discernible new oak and can be found in a range of styles from rich and dry through to many with some sweetness.
A recent innovation has seen this grape blended with sauvignon blanc to produce sauvignon gris though I'm still getting my head round this combo.
Price: $30
Rating: Excellent
Stonefruit hinting at apricot with a stony/minerally note. Nice fruit intensity on the palate: fruit sweetness without being overblown. Pears, nashi, spice and a whiff of citrus on the close. Supple and textural with good freshness and balance.
A very tasty package: with aeration some gunsmoke and tropical/pineapple notes appear.
Price: $23
Rating: Good to very good
Distinctly pear on the nose, with spices and later apricot tinges. The palate is quite zesty, edgy even, in a good way. Medium weight with delicate flavours and underlying fruit sweetness. A crisp finish with a lip-smacking quality.
A little tight at first but fleshes out with aeration, though there is a little heat on the finish.
Price: $30
Rating: Excellent
A sauterne's nose of beeswax, honey, fig and marzipan with musky botrytis. The botrytis flows on to the palate, adding citrus and honey, an umami (savoury) nuance and balsamic notes. Powerful, textural: a little goes a long way here yet the finish is drier than the palate suggests.
Utterly different but fascinating.
