Wine · Medium strength

Pinot Grigio

Crisp, clean, crowd-proof — the white that never starts an argument.

How to order it: Alto Adige for pedigree. Serve cold, pour generously, repeat.

The story

Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris are the same grape — a grayish-pink mutation of Pinot Noir — wearing two different national costumes. In Alsace it grows rich, spiced, and golden; in northeastern Italy, picked early and fermented cold, it became something crisp, pale, and deliberately undemanding. The Italian version conquered the world: Santa Margherita's launch into the American market in 1979 is widely credited with building the category, and Pinot Grigio went on to become one of the best-selling imported whites in the United States. Critics sneer at its reticence, which rather misses the strategy. In Alto Adige and Friuli, where yields are kept honest, the grape quietly demonstrates it was never actually boring.

Adjacent pours