Crisp, Bright & Refreshing: Happy Pinot Gris Day
Photo credit: Wines of BC
On May 17, we celebrate BC’s number 1 white wine. It’s our most commonly planted white varietal and has the third highest acreage overall, at more than 1300 acres. It’s in the top 4 plantings for most regions across the province, performing best in a cooler climate. You may know it by two different names but it’s the same grape either way. Today it's all about Pinot Gris!
This grape is not only related to Pinot Noir, it’s the same grape - a mutation gives it bluish-grey skins and winemakers use it to create mostly light, approachable white wines in the dry to off-dry range. It matures relatively early which suits our shorter, northerly growing season. Rarely offensive, and intended for early consumption, Pinot Gris in BC is usually the answer when warmer weather begs the question. It may have popularity, but it doesn’t have much rizz. It can be accused of being boring, but these days that’s the exception, not the norm.
Pinot Gris is typically produced in one of two distinct styles. The first is a lighter, fruity but drier expression with higher acidity famously associated with northeastern Italy, and often domestic producers emulating this style will label it under its Italian name - Pinot Grigio. Just those two words alone and you know exactly what I’m talking about. Simple stainless steel fermentation means the ripeness of fruit takes the stage, and this style can offer great value both at home and abroad.
Not too far away on the same continent, we find the French region of Alsace (also this grape’s place of origin) which gives us Pinot Gris of another persuasion. In their warm, dry autumns, grapes can further mature on the vine and develop stronger, more robust flavours. Slightly longer skin contact and barrel fermentation or short-term aging on lees provide more layers of complexity, resulting in fuller, rounder wines with less acidity, and spicy notes. Off-dry styles are more common here.
The Pinot Gris produced in BC is getting better and better, and is more often dry but leaning towards the fleshier style. Producers are experimenting with different methods and focusing on single vineyards, while contending with diverse soil types and ranges of annual heat energy, among other variables. Consumers are reluctant to pay over $30 per bottle for whites so to keep wines both interesting and accessible, some BC wineries have been using concrete vessels for fermentation and aging on lees. This allows a soft and creamy texture to develop while retaining ripe fruit character without obvious notes of spice, vanilla, or butterscotch from expensive oak.
There is not an abundance of unique character with Pinot Gris but common aromas and flavours are citrus, pear, mirabelle plum, melon, and honey. Its thicker skins often impart a waxy or musty aroma to the wine, as well as a faint hue of umber which distinguishes itself from other common whites. In addition to single-varietal wines this grape is also used in many white blends, a category in which BC excels. The Pinot Gris in this case plays a supporting role, providing good neutral body to let other more aromatic grapes like Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Viognier, or Muscat lend the highlights.
Because of its fairly neutral and approachable nature, Pinot Gris is very food-friendly and pairs easily with a wide variety of noshings. If you follow the fundamentals, you can’t go wrong. Serve lighter bodied wines with lighter foods, and for spicier dishes look for wines with lower alcohol (which usually means a little more sweetness as well). For a sublime refreshing treat on a hot day, mix an unoaked BC Pinot Gris half and half with unflavoured sparkling water in a tall tumbler and enjoy your weinschorle my cultured friend!
For Pinot Gris Day I am featuring a few hand-selected 100% Pinot Gris (and for 2025 wines, 100% BC fruit!) to showcase the diversity of BC producers, who kindly provided the wines for this article.
Moraine Estate Winery 2025 Pinot Gris
Moraine is notable for their white wines, emphasizing ripe fruit and aromatics, and this Pinot Gris is no exception. Lemon, apple, pear, and yellow plum are perfumed with chrysanthemum and wax. Although dry, it has a round texture and juicy finish. Lively acidity animates this wine, sustaining concentrated fruit flavours and a fresh finish. Nothing missing at all.
Dirty Laundry Vineyards 2025 Pinot Gris
Made for the patio in Dirty Laundry style, this is a Pinot Gris with impactful aromas of tropical fruit like melon, star fruit, and kiwi, along with citrus and orchard fruit. The palate is dry, slightly less than medium bodied, and therefore very delicate and summery. Bright acidity maintains the vibe of driving with the top down, while the finish gracefully parks on fresh squeezed grapefruit. Fun to drink and good value.
The View Winery 2025 Pinot Gris (BC Top 50 Wine Awards)
This Pinot Gris is sourced from the East Kelowna slopes and is produced in a more luscious style. 40% is fermented in French oak, 10% of which is new. The lemon, pear, apple, and blossoms on the nose are enhanced with a sophisticated lace of spice and cream from partial barrel fermentation. The palate is soft and supple, with an elegant richness that adds weight. A very easy sipper for relaxing outside, or entertaining inside.
Chronos Winery 2025 Pinot Gris
This captures the best of Okanagan character, and is sourced from Dragon Mountain Vineyard in Summerland. Fragrant lemon zest and juicy apple and pear aromas are complemented by spring blossoms. A medium bodied palate ushers in both zingy acidity and fleshy fruit character. The crescendo continues to the brilliant finish where this wine really shines, with concentrated citrus and melon flavours. Delightfully BC.
Larch Hills Winery 2024 Sunnyside Series Pinot Gris
Produced in BC from Washington fruit, this wine has a touch of bronze colour and leans into the spice of Pinot Gris in a beautifully aromatic way. Ripe red apple, strawberries, rhubarb, citrus, and chamomile provide a warm fragrance, with additions of pepper, cinnamon, and orange honey. It is off dry, soft, and very approachable, reverberating with a long finish of spiced fruit compote. A unique and very enjoyable style worth seeking out.
Solvero 2025 Pinot Gris
Fruit comes from Kozuki Family and Happy Valley vineyards in Summerland, with 5 passes of hand-picking at optimal ripeness. After whole-cluster pressing these all separately, 50% stainless steel and 50% neutral oak barrels were used for fermentation and 3 months’ aging. Pinot Gris character shines through from the start, with lemon, pear, apple, green plum, acacia, and waxy leaves on the nose. Dry on the palate, hallmark BC acidity grabs hold, boasting an affinity for food. The balance of soft texture and zippy freshness is maintained through the finish. Top notch.
Alderlea Vineyard 2025 Pinot Gris
This Pinot Gris comes from the sustainably and organically farmed vineyards overlooking Quamichan Lake in the Cowichan Valley. 26 hours of skin contact on the crush pad give this wine its rose-gold hue. This process also provides more complex aromas like cinnamon bubble gum and rose water to the fruit character of plum, tangelo, and cantaloupe. It is fuller in body than other Pinot Gris, with a sturdy spine of acidity and gentle grip. Sitting at a cool Cowichan 12% abv, freshness is guaranteed.
Final thoughts
The numbers don’t lie - Pinot Gris is immensely popular the world over and BC is no exception. Because of its consistency, it’s a safe choice if you don’t want to be surprised. The 2025 vintage is showing the best of BC, and the Pinot Gris is looking to be in excellent form. As long as we keep getting high quality Pinot Gris like those featured here, we can expect it to be a top performer in BC for the foreseeable future.
Blog post written by: Matt Tinney, Contributor, uncorkBC