Podcasts about tocai friulano

This time, Aleks Zecevic interviews Nikolas Juretic of his namesake estate in Collio, in Northeast Italy. He started his winery project in a small winery in the old town of Cormons in 2018. He produces the wine in a very artisanal and traditional way. The vineyards, family owned, are cultivated with the help of his parents Robert and Elena. The parcels and located in Cormons in the “crus” of Montona, Pradis and Bosc di Sot. On about 2 hectares they mainly cultivate white indigenous varieties (Tocai Friulano, Malvasia Istriana and Ribolla Gialla). The vineyards are all older than 50 years.Nikolas is one of the rising stars of the region and many people compare them to Stanko Radikon. He is also a long-term employee of Simonid and Sirch, a company that specializes in vine pruning. Nikolas talks  about pruning, but also about Collio and indigenous varieties of the region, as well as his story and philosophy of winemaking. 

Welcome to Episode 1378 on Italian Wine Podcast, today on Masterclass US Wine Market With Juliana Colangelo she will be interviewing Dan Petroski. More about Dan Petroski: A decade into his publishing career at Time Inc., Dan Petroski took a moment to reflect and he jettisoned to Italy for a year. While Petroski's intention was to return to New York, a harvest invitation in 2006 to come to California was too good to pass up. After harvest, Petroski was hired at Napa's Larkmead as cellar master, ultimately claiming the winemaker title in 2012. Petroski spent nearly 15 years at Larkmead, cementing his status as a top-tier Napa Valley Cabernet winemaker; during that period Petroski launched a white wine only brand called Massican, an ode to the Mediterranean and Petroski's time spent living in Italy and drinking white wine. Petroski's approach and ability to craft wines as diverse as Cabernet Sauvignon and Tocai Friulano has earned him perfect 100-point scores, Top 100 wines, recognition as San Francisco Chronicle's Winemaker of the Year in 2017 and Food & Wine magazine's Drinks Innovator of the Year in 2022. You can learn more about Dan Petroski by visiting: https://www.instagram.com/danpetroski/?hl=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/danpetroski/ massican.com More about Juliana Colangelo: Juliana Colangelo is a Vice President at Colangelo & Partners, the leading wine and spirits communications agency in the U.S. Juliana joined Colangelo & Partners in 2013 with previous experience in events, hospitality, and nonprofit development. During her tenure at C&P, Juliana has led the development of the California office, growing the agency's domestic presence to a dedicated office of 13 people with representation of leading wine companies such as Jackson Family Wines, Far Niente, Charles Krug Winery, Foley Family Wines and more. Juliana has completed her WSET Level 3 and her eMBA in Wine Business with Sonoma State University, allowing her to bring a strategic and sales-oriented approach to communications strategy for the agency. In 2021, Juliana was named one of PR News' Top Women in PR in the “Rising Stars” category. In 2022 Juliana became a Vinitaly International Academy Italian Wine Ambassador. To learn more visit: Instagram: www.instagram.com/julezcolang/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/jules.colangelo/ Twitter: twitter.com/JulezColang LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/juliana-colan…lo-mba-04345539/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/colangelopr/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ColangeloPR Twitter: twitter.com/ColangeloPR LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/colangel…public-relations Let's keep in touch! Follow us on our social media channels: Instagram @italianwinepodcast Facebook @ItalianWinePodcast Twitter @itawinepodcast Tiktok @MammaJumboShrimp LinkedIn @ItalianWinePodcast If you feel like helping us, donate here www.italianwinepodcast.com/donate-to-show/ Until next time, Cin Cin!

Samantha Hohl, wine educator and certified sommelier, and Robert Tas to enjoy the speakeasy vibe at Yvonne's. This playful supper club offers an intimate and exclusive dining room where guests can revel in the eclectic decor, enjoy a seasonal menu, and an adventurous wine list. Sam reviews the list to find the best bubbles and budget wines and offers pairing suggestions to ensure your dining experience is one to remember.  Wines reviewed include: 2016 Tocai Friulano from Larkmead Vineyards, Napa 2019 Lindquist Family Marsanne, California 2015 Pierre Gimonnet Special Club Brut Champagne  For more information on today's episode, and the wines you love to love, visit www.corkrules.com.  

I'm Lawrence Francis, Host of Interpreting Wine the place to learn from thought leaders in the world of wine and marketing, welcoming you to the London Somm Special series. Across these 3 episodes I'll exploring three very different London wine led venues, talking with wine buyers and sommeliers in each venue about their wine programmes and careers in the industry. If you are working in wine or would like to I'm sure there will be loads to relate to in these episodes. We kick things off at London's iconic Davies and Brook in the company of sommelier Emma Denney. In an episode recorded at the end of Summer 2021, we hear her transition from her native New Zealand to working in Davies and Brook. 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:00 Origin Story 00:00:00 Studying to improve wine knowledge 00:00:00 Sommelier Wine Education  00:00:00 Davies and Brook virtual tour 00:00:00 The sommelier career 00:00:00 The wine programme and culture 00:00:00 Wine #1: Massican 'Annia' 2018, Napa Valley, USA 48% Tocai Friulano, 41% Ribolla Gialla and 11% Chadonnay https://massican.com/product/2018-annia/ 00:00:00 Wine #2:Markus Altenburger, Blaufränkisch, Leithaberg, Burgenland, Austria 2017 https://markusaltenburger.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ma-rot_2017_eng.pdf 00:00:00 Wine Chat If you know someone who would enjoy this episode please share the direct link: www.interpretingwine.com/454 If you really enjoyed it please leave the episode an iTunes review on the same link. Thanks!

MJ's guest is a winemaker and the founder of Massican Wines, Dan Petroski. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY where he went on to play football at Columbia. He went on to work for Time Inc. while also studying for his MBA at NYU, both ingredients for a promising future in magazine publishing. Dan began his wine education literally winning and dining clients around Manhattan's best restaurants. He set off for Sicily, where he interned at Valle dell'Acate for a year. Dan originally intended to return to NYC to sell wine, but later received a harvest invitation in 2006 in Napa Valley. Not long after that, Petroski was hired as cellar master, ultimately claiming the Larkmead winemaker title in 2012. In 2009, Dan launched his own wine business called Massican, which specializes in Italian inspired white wines. Massican is a one-man operation where Dan manages all winemaking, sales and marketing. In July of 2020 Dan went back to his digital media roots launching Massican Magazine online. Petroski's approach and ability to craft wines as diverse as Cabernet Sauvignon and Tocai Friulano has earned him the recognition as San Francisco Chronicle's Winemaker of the Year in 2017On this episode, MJ and Dan enjoy a beautiful bottle of Fiorano Boncampagni Ludovisi, while discussing Dan's unlikely start to a decorated and fulfilling career in wine, his once in a lifetime winemaking education in Sicily, his time at Larkmead, starting his own business at Massican, and fighting climate change on the front lines! Period. Cheers! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to our Saturday Special of On The Road Special Edition hosted by Stevie Kim. Today she is interviewing Kristian Keber of the Kristian Keber family winery in Brda, Slovenia More about today's guest: Kristian Keber's parents' house, Edi Keber, has a history of 350 years and is a prestigious winery that started bottling in 1957. He inherited an old vineyard from his grandfather Roman and he decided to realize his dream in the Goriška Brda Region. The cultivated grapes are the natives: Ribolla Gialla, Tocai Friulano and Malvasia Istriana. Of course, he followed the idea Wine-Terroir and therefore the name of the wine is Brda, which is the Slovenian translation of Collio. The slopes are covered with terraced vineyards and the soil is called Ponca or Opoka. He has always loved macerated wines with spontaneous fermentation, and he has been experimenting this method for years, now, Brda is the realization of it. He bottles only one type of wine named "BRDA"which expresses the land of Brda. The harvest is manual, the grapes macerate and ferment in concrete tanks, without temperature control and without the addition of selected yeasts. The maceration (grapes with stalk) lasted 5 months. After the pressing, the wine ages in oak barrels for 2 years, the natural sedimentation is achieved, and the wine is bottled without being filtered. More about the host Stevie Kim: Stevie hosts Clubhouse sessions each week (visit Italian Wine Club & Wine Business on Clubhouse), these recorded sessions are then released on the podcast to immortalize them! She often also joins Professor Scienza in his shows to lend a hand keeping our Professor in check! You can also find her taking a hit for the team when she goes “On the Road”, all over the Italian countryside, visiting wineries and interviewing producers, enjoying their best food and wine – all in the name of bringing us great Pods! To find out more about Stevie Kim visit: Facebook: @steviekim222 Instagram: @steviekim222 Website: https://vinitalyinternational.com/wordpress/ Let's keep in touch! Follow us on our social media channels: Instagram @italianwinepodcast Facebook @ItalianWinePodcast Twitter @itawinepodast Tiktok @MammaJumboShrimp LinkedIn @ItalianWinePodcast If you feel like helping us, donate here www.italianwinepodcast.com/donate-to-show/ We also want to give a shout out to our sponsor Ferrowine. The largest alcoholic beverage shop in Italy since 1920! They have generously provided us with our brand new Italian Wine Podcast T-shirts, and we love them! Check out Ferrowine's site, they have great wines, food pairings and so much more! https://www.ferrowine.it/ Until next time, Cin Cin!

L’area di Brazzano è un’identità geografica delimitata: a Nord dalla collina di San Giorgio appartenente al Collio Goriziano, a Est dalla pianura isontina e dalla città di Cormons, a Sud e ad Ovest dal torrente Judrio. È proprio a quest’ultimo che è legata la storia e la formazione pedologica del territorio di Brazzano. Nel cuore del paese ha sede l’azienda storica della Famiglia Bracco (il cui cognome era l’originario Brach), viticoltori dal 1881 e proprietari da più di cinque generazioni degli stessi vigneti che recano ancora oggi antichi toponimi risalenti all’epoca austroungarica. È dall’assemblaggio delle uve provenienti dalle diverse microzone e dal sinergismo dei loro diversi requisiti qualitativi che nascono i vini Cru Brazzano.Cinque sono ormai le generazioni che si susseguono nella famiglia Bracco e 120 anni di storia, di passione e di impegno. L’intima conoscenza del mestiere di viticoltore viene ancora esercitata in totale libertà ed onesta umiltà: a Brazzano sopravvive ancora la vera civiltà contadina. I Bracco possono contare sulla continuità aziendale: Elisabetta, figlia di Giuliana ed Alfredo, rientra dai suoi studi a Bordeaux, introduce immediatamente la sitoviticoltura, individua le ‘vielles vignes’ e crea la linea del fondatore, la Selezione Mattia Brach. Ultima vendemmia con lo storico nome Tocai Friulano: per suggellare il dovuto cambiamento viene realizzata una fascetta identificativa nella linea del fondatore.

https://www.105.net/audio/105-friends/1262333/roberto-cipresso-tocai-friulano-parte-2.htmlhttps://www.105.net/audio/105-friends/1262333/roberto-cipresso-tocai-friulano-parte-2.htmlMon, 18 May 2020 15:48:08 +0200Radio 105Radio 105noUna chiacchierata di Tony e Ross ai loro "Friends"0

https://www.105.net/audio/105-friends/1262332/roberto-cipresso-tocai-friulano-parte-1.htmlhttps://www.105.net/audio/105-friends/1262332/roberto-cipresso-tocai-friulano-parte-1.htmlMon, 18 May 2020 15:47:01 +0200Radio 105Radio 105noUna chiacchierata di Tony e Ross ai loro "Friends"0

John Harley is our guest this week on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. His label is called Inizi Wines and he specializes in growing and producing Italian varietals in California which are rarely found in the United States. Inizi Wines was founded by two couples, A.J. and Jen Filipelli and John and Kirsti Harley, in 2012. John and A.J. became friends when they were studying Enology and Viticulture, respectively, at Fresno State, and their wives are also partners in the company. The word "Inizi" means "beginnings" in Italian. Their first vintage was 2012, a Charbono. It's an Italian variety that was known for a while in the Napa Valley. It is known for its acidity, dark color and beautiful aromatics. It was known as a good blending grape in the age before the Judgement of Paris, when blends were more popular, and before Cabernet Sauvignon took over. Next they taste a 2018 Tocai Friulano, a crisp white wine very popular in Italy. It is usually grown on steep, rocky hillsides, in Friuli, the region of north-eastern Italy. "You can take the grape out of Italy but you can't take the Italy out of the grape." After they started with Charbono, they continued to plant and produce unfamiliar wines. The four of them have jobs in other parts of the wine industry and they were surprised at how much success they have had. They have a tasting room in Guerneville. They also make three blends, a white, red and rosé, from their Italian varieties. They make a Sagrantino, which is ultra-rare. They also make Montepulciano. Their red blend is their most popular bottling, it has Montepulciano, Dolcetto, Sangiovese, Barbera and a little Cabernet Sauvignon. Dan Berger notices that the 2015 Charbono is dark but has low tannins. John compares it to a cool climate Syrah. John explains that they don't own their vineyards but they work closely with the vineyard owners. They have ancient Charbono vines. There are only about 70 acres of Charbono in the US. They grow Charbono in Argentina, where it is also called Bonarda. (The name Bonarda is also known in Italy.) In Argentina, they use it for blending with their Malbecs. Dan Berger explains that it is not easy to find these plantings of old Italian varieties in California, you have to go out and hunt for them. John tells about his Italian grandfather who started selling grapes in New York on a small scale and eventually grew to a nationwide business and he became known as The Juice King of the US. They also taste a Sagrantino that Dan says is so extraordinary that he would cellar it for 30 or 35 years. Sagrantino comes from the south of Italy and is one of the most tannic wines in the world. It has to be a year in the barrel and two years in the bottle, by Italian DOC standards. His friend Dick Handel has an acre and a half of this on a hill in Dry Creek. "You can take the grape out of Italy but you can't take the Italy out of the grape." Dan compares it to a walk in the forest in the summertime. Sagrantino is the Barolo of the south, says Dan, quoting friend of the show Don Chigazola. John says it could be compared to a Cabernet Sauvignon. Dan suggests having it with roast lamb with garlic. There are only about 10 acres of this grape grown in the US. Dan says it is a hard fruit to work with, you have to use small quantities of fruit and make it gently. John says they had about a ton and a half. They had it in a large open topped container, they de-topped the fruit, it has about 10% whole cluster, to give it a softer structure and aromatics, and that helped kick off its native ferment with its indigenous yeast. They gently extracted the wine, a couple of punch-downs per day. The yeast produces CO2 and ethanol. The skins float to the top. That's where the c0lor, flavors and tannins are, so you want to mix that back down into the juice, 2 or 3 times per 24 hours. This they do manually. The vines struggle on the hillside and that produces really concentrated ...

We tackle a wine style that is adored in certain hip, wine "in-crowd" circles: "orange" wine, which is actually white wine made like a red -- there is long contact with the skins and seeds that give the wine a darker, orange-ish color, and VERY different flavors. M.C. Ice and I are not big fans, but we do our best to explain the phenomenon of these whites made with skin contact.   Here are the show notes:   You know it's time to cover a topic when, in Europe, the supermarket chain Aldi sells a bottle of skin-contact wine for less than $8 US!    WHAT THE HECK IS ORANGE WINE?? First and most importantly, it's not from oranges but from grapes!  Made exactly like a red but with longer maceration (the time during winemakig when the grape skins and seeds stay in contact with the juice)  Reds with skin contact are red wines, reds with little contact are rosés; whites with skin contact are “orange”, without contact they are whites Rosés usually undergo less than 12 hours macerating on their skins before the juice is pressed off  Orange wine is the opposite of Rosé Can make skin-contact wine from any grape – length of time with the skins will matter to flavor and the longer the time the more likely the wine is to mask terroir Length of time varies, but maceration is LONG – days, weeks, months Not all are orange so it’s better to call them “skin-contact wines.” WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MACERATING WHITE JUICE WITH SKINS? The wine takes on a darker colored/orange-ish white color, as well as phenols, pigment.  Aromas: Bolder and more intense same grapes vinified as traditional white – like rose v red Flavors: Nutty, oxidized flavor, very sour with a cider note. Can be bold, nutty, like old apples, sourdough bread Textures: Dry, tannic, intense (not very pleasurable sometimes)   Different styles: Lightest ones, are acidic, aromatic wines, with fresh apricot, herbs Medium ones – slight oxidation, some acetone notes, old apple Then full-bodied, boldly tannic, and often smoky, nutty, lots of VA, off notes   Regions:  The Republic of Georgia: Qvervi—underground vessels sealed with beeswax or oil soaked clothes. The practice of skin contact whites likely originated here 6,000 or more years ago (the practice still goes on today, although the Greeks and Romans quickly realized the best wines were those from free-run juice/whites not macerated, which is our "traditional" style today). Rkatsiteli is the main grape Listen to the Georgia Podcast!   Italy: Most prominent in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, often called  ramato “copper-colored” wines from Pinot Grigio but Ribolla Gialla and Tocai Friulano are often used.  Fruili producers who re-started the orange wine movement: Radikon, Gravner Sicilian producers: Cos, I Vigneri    Slovenia: Goriska Brda in Slovenia has a long history of skin contact wine Listen to the Slovenia show!   United States Long Island: Channing Daughters, Shinn Estate California: Some Sonoma   Others: Australia – Sauvignon Blanc, Greece, South Africa, Croatia, France   Food Pairing: Skin Contact wine is versatile with food pairing but it depends on the weight and the treatment of the wine (length of maceration, barrel v. stainless steel, etc).  Serving temps – 50 – 55˚ warmer side   Don't forget to order your Wine For Normal People book today too!!  ____________________________________________________ Thanks to our sponsors this week: Thanks to YOU! The podcast supporters on Patreon, who are helping us to make the podcast possible and who we give goodies in return for their help! 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Invite your wine drinking pals and they’ll get $10 instantly and you get $30 when they make their first buy.   Coravin  Coravin is the first and only tool in the world that lets you pour wine without removing the cork. You can pour wine in any amount and preserve what’s left of the bottle for weeks, months of even years. Thousands of wine professionals, from sommeliers to winemakers, around the world have tested and trust Coravin with their wines and it will change the way you drink wine too. For a limited time, visit Coravin.com and enter NORMAL at checkout to get $20 off your purchase of $50 of more!   M.M. LaFleur        If you’ve wondered about these clothes, as I have, I’m here to tell you PULL THE TRIGGER! They are beautiful!! The M.M.LaFleur collection is designed by co-founder Miyako Nakamura, the former head designer of Zac Posen. M.M.LaFleur offers personal styling to help you find the best pieces for your body and lifestyle. 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This week, the gals get beamed up to probe some extraterrestrial encounters. Topics include bogus autopsies, a coal miner's inexplicable death, and some terrif-EYE-ing hypontic recollections. Pop open some Au Delà Tocai Friulano from (or the Groom Lake Red from the Little A'Le'Inn), rebutton your jacket, and tune in for Alien Abductions.

Dan Petroski was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and has the swagger and the accent to prove it. After attending Columbia University where he played football, Dan went to work for Time, Inc. While there, he earned his MBA from NYU and worked his way up the ranks towards a promising future in magazine publishing. A good chunk of his tenure at Time was spent managing advertising clients, which involved considerable schmoozing. This is how Dan learned wine, by walking his expense account through the lists of Manhattan’s top restaurants. When the Wall Street Journal tried to poach him, Dan took a moment to reflect. Deciding a change of life was in order, he jettisoned to Sicily for a year, where he interned at Valle dell’Acate. While Dan’s intention was to return to New York to sell wine, a harvest invitation from Andy Smith at DuMOL in 2006 was too good to pass up, and Dan left the city again, this time facing west. After harvest, Andy Smith hired Dan as Cellar Master at Larkmead. The following year, Dan was promoted to Assistant Winemaker, ultimately claiming the Larkmead Winemaker title in 2012. Before cementing his status as a Napa Valley Cabernet winemaker, in 2009 Dan launched a white wine only brand called Massican. Massican is Dan’s ode to the Mediterranean and his time spent living in Italy and drinking white wine. Dan is a gifted, instinctual winemaker, and his old world palate has guided his philosophy on wine. Dan’s approach and ability to craft wines as diverse as Cabernet Sauvignon and Tocai Friulano has earned him the recognition as San Francisco Chronicle’s Winemaker of the Year in 2017. In the Drink is powered by Simplecast

Dan Petroski is the winemaker at Larkmead Winery and owns Massican, a winery devoted to crafting Italian white grapes like Ribolla Gialla and Tocai Friulano. The SF Chronicle name Dan Winemaker of the Year for 2017. Jason Heller is a Master Sommelier, ran wine programs for Thomas Keller and Richard Reddington, sales at Harlan, Bond, and Dana and is currently a partner at Scale Wine Group. Dan and Jason along with five other Napa wine friends started the Band of Vintners. They make a cabernet blend called Consortium combining sustainably farmed grapes from a variety of high-quality growers, spanning the Napa hillsides to the valley floor at a price that is music to everyone's ear. The Grape Nation is powered by Simplecast

Today we simply call it Friulano, but this magnificent grape from Friuli Venezia Giulia - once Tocai Friulano and still today known worldwide as Sauvignon Vert or Sauvignonasse - has been always capable of making wine of remarkable body and longevity, all being characterized by a lively crispness and a pleasing touch of almond.

Oggi si chiama semplicemente Friulano, ma questa grande uva del Friuli Venezia Giulia - un tempo Tocai Friulano e conosciuta ancora oggi nel mondo come Sauvignon Vert o Sauvignonasse - è stata da sempre capace di dare vini di grande struttura e longevità, tutti all'insegna di una vibrante freschezza e un piacevolissimo carattere di mandorla.

When I saw the post introducing Wine Blogging Wednesday #10 over at My Adventures in the Breadbox, I thought to myself it was about time we went back to the white side of the wine world after several forays into the red (or rose) zone. But “white pinot”? What’s that all about? It seems that our old red friend, the Pinot Noir, has mutated over the millennia and has produced another related white varietal most commonly known as Pinot Gris. Yes, yes, I know that “gris” translates to “grey” but the juice is quite white even with extended skin contact. The problem with this variety is that is goes by so many names depending upon where it is grown that it is hard to know what you are drinking without a scorecard. A Google search turned up the following synonyms: * Pinot Grigio (Italy) * Pinot Beurot (Loire Valley, France) * Ruländer (Austria and Germany, Romania, sweet) * Grauburgunder or Grauer burgunder (Austria and Germany, dry) * Grauklevner (Germany) * Malvoisie (Loire Valley, France and Switzerland) * Tokay d’Alsace (Alsace) (currently being renamed due to EU regulations) * Auxerrois Gris (Alsace) * Fromentau (Languedoc, France) * Fromentot (France) * Fauvet (France) * Gris Cordelier (France) * Grauer Mönch (Germany) * Monemrasia * Crvena Klevanjka (Croatia) * Szürkebarát (Hungary) Yikes, that’s quite a list! Another interesting point is that the style varies depending upon the region. This can range from the light and lean Pinot Grigio’s from Italy to the more substantial full fruit Oregon style to the classic floral and silky Alsatian wines. For this event, started with a wine I spied on the by-the-glass selection of the local eatery where I just finished dinner. It was a 2003 Pinot Grigio from Stella of the Umbria region in Italy. I found this wine to be almost clear in color with the slightest hit of straw and a lean fruity nose typical of the varietal. On the palette it had nice citrus and apple flavors, good acidity and a dry, slightly minerally finish. A very good start to this evening’s festivities earning an 8.5/10 on my scale. A quick Google later I found this to be a fine value at only $6 a bottle. Next, I decided to pull a Pinot Grigio from California out of the cellar that a friend gave me last summer. It is from La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi of the 2002 vintage that retails for $15. This is another label from the prolific Mondavi family that was started in 1994 to, “celebrate their Italian heritage from California vineyards”; as usual, brilliant marketing The winemaker’s notes reveal that this wine is a blend of 98% Pinot Grigio and 2% Tocai Friulano, the top native grape from Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. He also points out the fruit came from Monterey County (87%), the Los Carneros (7%), and 3% each from El Dorado and Santa Maria Valley. Thankfully, the wine did not see any oak and was not subjected to the rigors of malolactic fermentation, so I expected it to be full in fruit flavors with a nice dose of acidity making this a good match for shellfish (oysters, anyone?!). This wine was also shy on the color with a bit of the old yellow/green, but had a much more powerful citrus nose than the previous Grigio. Nice lemon and pear flavors and bracing acidity finish bone dry. A solid 8.5/10. Pinot Blanc is a mutation of Pinot Gris that used to be widely planted in Burgundy. This was until the Appellation Controlee laws knocked out Pinot Blanc in favor of Chardonnay. The grape is most identified in France today with the Alsace region where it is the number 3 grape behind Riesling and Sylvaner. Pinot Blanc also has some identity issues, but they seem to be isolated to California where much of what is labeled Pinot Blanc is actually Melon de Bourgogne, also called Muscadet in France’s Loire region. Like Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc is quite malleable to the hand of the winemaker, taking oak well so wines can be light and fruity to big and oaky. As with Chardonnay, I prefer my Pinot Blanc unoaked, so I chose a bottling from the reliable Trimbach of Alsace. It is their 2001 Pinot Blanc that is blended with a bit of Pinot Auxerrois and sells for about $15 a bottle. This wine is straw in color with a hint of green, has a lean citrus nose and with apple and nut flavors. Another bone dry wine with high acidity, it would be a natural with food. I found this wine to be delicious and earn a 9/10. So what was learned in this tale of Two Pinots? That they are surprisingly similar in flavor and great food wines. I think I like the more elegant style of the Pinot Blanc, but as can be seen from my tasting notes, it was a close race. The best of tasting goes to the Trimbach Pinot Blanc 2001 with best value to the Stella Pinot Grigio 2003. Thanks to Alice from My Adventures in the Breadbox for a great theme; I can’t wait until the next installment!