From the hills of Northern Italy it came – a drink to strike indifference into the hearts of sommeliers everywhere. An intrepid Tom Bruce-Gardyne looks at the Pinot Grigio phenomenon and asks, is it really all that bad?

Pinot Grigio is threatening to take over the entire wine world. In the United States it has sailed past Sauvignon Blanc to become the biggest selling white wine bar all but Chardonnay. In Britain, where it has become almost as ubiquitous as pasta and cappuccino, it is poised to do the same. In the year to last summer, UK sales of the varietal have reportedly grown by over a million cases.

Like all good ‘rags to riches’ stories, the rise of Pinot Grigio from local wannabe to international star has been dramatic and fast-paced. Too fast, certainly, for computer spell-checks, which think it ought to be called Pinot Gringo.

As recently as the late 1970s, the grape was virtually unknown beyond the vineyards of northern Italy. Even there it was often mixed in with other vines like Pinot Bianco, and sold in bulk to spumante producers. It was then pumped across the border to satisfy the Germans and their insatiable thirst for cheap fizz.

That’s ramato

Some of it was bottled as a varietal wine, but always in the traditional, ‘ramato’ style. The wines were somewhat oxidised, spicy and similar to their French namesake; Pinot Gris. In other words, not a bit like the big-selling Pinot Grigios of today.

At first we were reluctant to add a rosé because 

 it looked like we were just doing it for the sake of the name, 

 but happily we found one that stood on its own two feet Mike Stocks, Carluccio’s 

The invention of modern style Pinot Grigio, vinified ‘in bianco’ and slightly off-dry, is credited to the Venetian producer Santa Margherita. In 1979, Billy Terlato, president of its US agent, Paterno Imports, shipped the first few cases to test the water. Paterno had to create demand for a wine no-one had heard of, though this lack of knowledge allowed them to set the price at a hefty $10 a bottle. At three times that of the then market leader, Bolla Soave, there were big margins to share with wholesalers and reinvest in marketing.

Before long Santa Margherita was appearing on American TV and heading for annual sales of 450,000 cases, mainly in the on-trade. Others followed, and by the late 1980s the US boom was well and truly underway. Back in Britain however, the grape remained undiscovered.

Gianni Segata of Alivini imported Santa Margherita here as long ago as 1978, though he was never able to replicate the wine’s incredible success in America. Had he succeeded, Segata might be roaring up and down the Kings Road in a Ferrari with personalised plates to this day.

Then again, maybe not, for it assumes restaurant-goers here would have happily splashed out around £30 for a simple white wine that had never seen the inside of a barrique. Simplicity is the key to Pinot Grigio’s success. ‘It is light, easy to drink, and a good complement to food,’ says Segata. ‘It is a simple wine that you don’t need to think too much about.’

For Mike Stocks, bar and training manager at the Carluccio’s group, ‘It is such a fine all-rounder. It is not too acidic, not too alcoholic and not too aromatic. It’s a ‘can-do-no-wrong’ sort of wine.’ Does he mean ‘inoffensive’? I wonder. ‘Well, I’m glad you said it rather than me.’

Meanwhile, over at Pizza Express, the company’s commercial marketing director, Tim Gambrill, describes Pinot Grigio as ‘ridiculously successful’ and agrees with Stocks and Segata that ‘it’s a very versatile wine that goes with pretty much anything. It has exactly the right image. When people order a bottle they are buying into a piece of Italian life.’

Pinot Radio

Claudio Gambarotto, now CAVIT’s export manager, first noticed the rise of Pinot Grigio in the mid-1990s while working as an independent wine merchant in York. ‘At first I didn’t know why, but I think it happened by word of mouth,’ he says. It wasn’t being rammed down the throats of shoppers in supermarkets, nor was it being hyped in the media – unless you count a possible plug by Terry Wogan. According to Sergio di Lucca, Enotria’s Italian buyer, Wogan told his 10m Radio 2 listeners that he liked ‘nothing better than to relax with a glass of Pinot Grigio after a show’.

Then there’s that sexy Italian name and the fact Pinot Grigio was an antidote to what came before – wines oozing with oak and tropical fruit that would swamp any dish because they were a meal in themselves. But whatever the reasons, one thing’s for sure: Pinot Grigio was built in the on-trade, and that is where it continues to boom. Its popularity stretches from national chain to independent, from gastropub to modern, high-end Italian. The only question is – what is the best
way to ride the wave?

Pinot pricey-o

Restaurant wine consultant, Peter McCombie MW, fears there is a serious missed opportunity going on. ‘A lot of restaurateurs set their sights too low and think “We must find the cheapest Pinot Grigio we can.” I think that’s a real mistake. Clearly that is one consumer profile for people who just want something clean, and mildly fruity, but I think some consumers can be easily traded up by offering them a better quality Pinot.’

To prove his point McCombie cites the experience of clients who had a small chain and who changed their Pinot Grigio from a poor one at £13.50 to a far better one at £18.50. Sales stayed the same.

.It’s a very versatile wine and has exactly the right 

 image. People are buying into a piece 

  of Italian life Tim Gambrill, Pizza Express 

It was the same story at Zuma in London, when sommelier Alessandro Marchesan dropped his £25 version and went for three top-of-the-range wines, including an original Pinot Grigio ramato, all of which ‘sell really well at over £45’. For Marchesan, PG is ‘like Chablis – people buy the name and I prefer to offer an expensive, good example’.

While it’s true that there is far more to Italian wine than Pinot Grigio, it’s also true that there is far more to Pinot Grigio than the rather neutral, entry-level styles sold in vast volumes from the Veneto. ‘There are clearly people out there making good-quality Pinot Grigios and where you’ve got a reasonably ambitious restaurant, those wines will sell,’ says McCombie. ‘I tend to steer clients to Friuli, particularly Collio, and to the Alto Adige as areas that are hugely undervalued in this market. Though you won’t get that upfront fruit, there is fruit there and a lot more texture. I know it’s a cliché, but these can be great food wines.’

To further capitalise on the trend, there is also the pink version of Pinot Grigio to consider; as opposed to the copper-coloured, bone-dry ramato wines that are much more niche. At Carluccio’s, Stocks explains ‘at first we were quite reluctant to add a rosé because it looked like we were just doing it for the sake of the name, but happily we found one that stood on its own two feet.’

Pinot fizzio

Pizza Express has also extended its Pinot Grigio range into what Gambrill describes as ‘almost a mini-category in itself.’ On a list of 24 wines, there is now a basic Pinot Grigio at £14.65, a premium £20 offering and a blush version at £14.95 that together account for over 25% of total wine sales.

Some have gone further and offered a sparkling Pinot Grigio, though CAVIT’s Gambarotto questions whether the grape really has the acidity for this and says his company have never done one. Their pink Pinot Grigio, however, is going like a rocket – with sales up 200% last year, which has further convinced him that this wine is here to stay.

After a huge hike in grape prices in 2002 as demand outstripped supply, many said ‘the bubble would burst’, Claudio recalls. Instead Pinot Grigio barely blinked. Then as now, Italy’s varietal superstar continues ever onwards and upwards, taking over the world…