Pinot Grigio Wine Pairing

Pinot Gris, called Pinot Grigio in Italy, is a white variant-clone of the red grape Pinot Noir. The Italian region of Friuli produces the best Pinot Grigio in a crisp, refreshing style. Other Italian regions produce it too but it can be over-cropped and taste insipid. Benchmark Pinot Gris is best known from Alsace, France, where it’s known as Tokay d'Alsace (unrelated to Hungarian Tokay), and produces a full-bodied wine. In Oregon, vintners are shifting away from Chardonnay to produce a lively style of Pinot Gris.

Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio have delicate floral and citrus aromas such as lemon, lime, pear, melon and green apple. When oaked, they have notes of vanilla, almond, toast and smoke. Depending on how they’re made, they can be light- to medium-bodied with a tangy acidity or be more full-bodied with a rich, voluptuous texture. They’re usually made in a bone-dry style, unoaked and unblended. The wine generally has a light straw color that may have a pink or salmon tinge.

Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio make terrific aperitifs before a meal. Pair them with potato salad, liver paté, brie, camembert, chicken tangine, duck, turkey, quiche, Chinese, Indian, and Thai dishes, Tex-Mex, risotto with mushrooms, cheese pizza, pork, clam chowder, fried shrimp, clams, oysters, smoked fish, breaded veal cutlets, tomato and mozzarella salad.

Pinot Grigio Wine with appetizers:

     • pate: liver
     • avocado

Pinot Grigio Wine with breads:

     • bread: Italian

Pinot Grigio Wine with cheese:

     • Cheesies
     • brie
     • camembert
     • cheese straws
     • brick
     • muenster
     • cheddar: bacon
     • cheddar: smoked
     • cheddar: mild
     • cheddar: medium
     • cheddar: sharp: 1 year - 4 years

Pinot Grigio Wine with chicken/poultry:

     • chicken with pancetta & herbs
     • chicken in orange balsamic sauce
     • partridge
     • duck
     • turkey
     • foie gras
     • chicken tangine
     • chicken francese
     • chicken
     • chicken with creamy sauces

Pinot Grigio Wine with egg dishes:

     • quiche
     • omelette: Spanish

Pinot Grigio Wine with ethnic dishes:

     • chicken: butter
     • lamb korma
     • latkes
     • curries: spicy
     • Causa Limeña Bicolor: crab: Peruvian
     • venado al aguaymanto: venison: Peruvian
     • tilapia: mediterranean
     • curries: mild
     • Chinese dishes
     • Indian dishes
     • Tex-Mex
     • Thai dishes
     • curry: coconut: mild
     • chicken korma
     • curries: lightly spiced
     • curries: creamy

Pinot Grigio Wine with pasta:

     • risotto with mushrooms
     • ravioli with mushrooms

Pinot Grigio Wine with pizza:

     • pizza: cheese
     • pizza: white
     • pizza: pesto
     • pizza: meat lover's

Pinot Grigio Wine with pork:

     • pork cooked with prunes and cream
     • pork

Pinot Grigio Wine with sauces, spices, herbs:

     • caraway
     • basil
     • anise, fennel
     • sauce: brown butter
     • sauce: mint
     • rosemary
     • sauce: seafood cocktail
     • tarragon
     • sauce: tartar
     • cardamom
     • chives
     • cumin
     • fennel
     • ginger
     • thyme
     • chervil

Pinot Grigio Wine with seafood & shellfish:

     • fish: grilled
     • tuna salad: spicy
     • fish: barbecued
     • salmon
     • fish: smoked
     • tuna
     • clam chowder: clear base
     • clams
     • salmon: poached
     • shrimp, clams, oysters: fried
     • oysters: raw
     • sole

Pinot Grigio Wine with soups & stews:

     • soup: vegetable
     • soup: lentil
     • soup: french onion

Pinot Grigio Wine with turkey holiday dinner:

     • Tofurkey
     • turducken
     • turkey sandwiches
     • turkey: white meat
     • turkey: dark meat

Pinot Grigio Wine with veal:

     • veal: breaded cutlets
     • veal

Pinot Grigio Wine with vegetables & salads:

     • garlic casserole
     • salad: potato
     • leeks
     • garlic soup
     • onions
     • scallions
     • peppers: green
     • peppers: chili
     • salad: field greens
     • peas: green
     • tomatoes: green
     • mushrooms: oyster
     • salads
     • vegetable couscous: spicy
     • salad: tomato and mozzarella
     • salads: green
     • salad: Greek