When people think “Italian White Wine”, Pinot Grigio is usually the first that comes to mind. The reason most people don’t like Pinot Grigio is because of its natural taste, despite it being the most imported wine variety in America.
Light Bodied and Airy Pinot Grigio
One can't expect a lot from the light-bodied mass produced Pinot Grigio. But when you experience a 100% natural produced Pinot Grigio like our SYLTBAR White Linen you immediately can taste the difference because this Pinot Grigio is not only light but delicate too. The SYLTBAR Pinot Grigio is also very clean, has a full bodied taste which even surprises the most elevated Pinot Grigio wine drinkers. Light, airy and fresh inspired us to found the name White Linen for it. Perfect as an afternoon drink, appetizer, also to match salads and fish dishes.
Pinot Grigio from Italy's Friuli Region
Friuli/ Italy is the best area for Pinot Grigio’s. Our winery is located in the Doc Friuli Grave zone in the municipalities of Porcia, Pasiano and Azzano Decimo which is very close to Venice. Between the provinces of Pordenone and Udine, straddling the Tagliamento river you find a natural landscape of striking originality: the “Grave”, generated by the large alluvial fans of the rivers Meduna, Cellina and Tagliamento. In the Northern part they are characterized by a coarse terrain, which along the coast line becomes fine.
The mountains in addition to having given rise to the Grave soil, protect it from the cold Northern winds. This fact, together with the beneficial effect of the Adriatic Sea, has contributed to the creation of a climate particularly suited to the cultivation of the wine and that is why Friuli is the best area for Pinot Grigio.
Located in the Northeastern region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, these neighboring denominations produce outstanding Pinot Grigio. Collio, which borders Slovenia, is made up entirely of hillside vineyards. The best sites in Friuli Colli Orientali are also found on the hills.
Our San Simone vineyards have sharp day-night temperature which changes that generate complexity and its aromas. The zones also benefit from microclimates generated by their vicinity to the Alps and the Adriatic Sea. The mountains protect the vineyards from harsh winter storms, while the Adriatic’s warm breezes encourage ripening. It is an amazing combination and can only be found in the Friuli region.
The most important factor about these superb SYLTBAR Pinot Grigio’s is the Friuli soil. Made up on layers of marl and sandstone, this flysch, known locally of the hills from the San Simone vineyard offers the wine a lot of mineral energy and salinity. Antonio Brisotto the San Simone owner and winemaker makes sure that our Pinot Grigio has enough structure and concentration.
He says that local producers have always made Pinot Grigio as a quality wine as opposed to subscribing to the quantity-driven mentality ones in other areas.
Popular Pinot Grigio Wines
We totally understand that some turn up their nose at mass produced Pinot Grigios. It is one of the most commercial popular wines. There are some quality producers who make more refined wines, which rewards drinkers with nuanced flavor and body. This is why our SYLTBAR Pinot Grigio is so successful for the end consumer.
Depending on the region the producer and the price point, Pinot Grigio’s range from light to medium body. That is why our SYLTBAR Pinot Grigio contains more body. Still it is not a $15.00 retail one. Our Pinot Grigio has been fermented much longer compared to others and this of course is causing higher production costs.
There are two entirely different worlds of Pinot Grigio and we are so happy that the American end consumers are slowly catching up to choose the better ones instead of drinking mass production.
True, there is an awful lot of highly indifferent Pinot Grigio’s sloshing around, and its commercial success has tainted the reputation of what it is. The Santa Margherita town in Ligure is a beautiful place and you should visit it one day. This still doesn’t mean that a good quality Pinot Grigio has to be from that area. Don’t get mucked with names which are familiar to you. It doesn’t prove any quality of the wine, only because the Pinot Grigio is originated from a famous town.
The best Pinot Grigio which is the real good stuff originates from the dramatic valleys in the foothills of the Italian Alps, especially Friuli. So if you purchase a Pinot Grigio please make sure to pick one from Friuli and that its winery name is marked on the front or back label of the bottle. A lot of Pinot Grigio’s are mass produced but are still stunningly high retail price pointed because of great Marketing campaigns and not due to its great quality level.
Whenever sommeliers ( especially in the US ) use their critical eyes about our choice of a Pinot Grigio in a restaurant, we are still surprised and have to tell them that for us it takes a lot of traveling to find an excellent Pinot Grigio and that unfortunately it is very hard to find it on a restaurant wine list.
Pinot Grigio Tasting Notes
The tasting of the White Linen Pinot Grigio is a pleasant nuance of pear, apricot and sensation of almonds. This wine is intended to be consumed young.
Our Pinot Grigio is not boring at all. This wine is originated from the extreme North-East of Italy, up against the mountains on the border of Slovenia, and it’s dripping with flavors which reflect the location. It explodes with flinty, aromatic intensity of the mountains, herbs, rocks and wild winds. The SYLTBAR Pinot Grigio is a masterpiece and it is not only an aperitif wine
In Friuli certainly Pinot Grigio is considered as a high end grape variety which is treated in the vineyard accordingly to its best winemaking management. It needs warm days to develop all its primary aromas yet cool nights to retain its acidity with mineral driven soils are the key for this value grape. But many producers unfortunately have found out that Pinot Grigio in these days sell.... no matter what you put in the bottle. This is the real problem which is also deluding the quality of the fine Pinot Grigio’s. It is like finding a treasure which is not an easy task during these days. But you can rely on SYLTBAR.
We will stay away from sommelier granted points for Pinot Grigio’s because we have discovered that it is not being earned because of the quality of the wine but for having been invited to beautiful vineyard trips or similar spoiled ones. Rather order your Pinot Grigio strictly by the name of the grape and not by the producer one.
There is one advantage for our real Pinot Grigio lovers. This is the lower price point compared to tremendously advantageous prices of trendy Whites like California Chardonnay’s.
So don’t expect a high end quality Pinot Grigio on a restaurant wine list. Very often instead discover a fruit forward lacking character wine which very often tastes like mass production. A lot of restaurants offer a corkage fee so you can bring your own Pinot Grigio which hopefully is the SYLTBAR one. Prices of corkage fee vary form $25.00 -$45.00 per bottle depending on the restaurant you go to. It is worth doing so because you know what you get.
The Wine Market
Did you know that women have some pretty serious power in the wine market ? In 2020 almost 70 percent of the wine buyers in the US are women. They love the lighter kind of wines compared to richer and heavier ones. Pinot Grigio’s are first on women’s choice list and only then Chardonnay comes next. Pinot Noir is their first choice when it comes Red wine. It’s less about the wine which pairs with dinner and much more about how to handle the next working day after having consumed a lot of wine the night before. We as women are hard working and raising the children. The lack of wine knowledge and education is a great Marketing opportunity for big producers selling low quality Pinot Grigio’s, Chardonnay’s, Moscato’s and “Pink” wines to women.
Us being a producer we take our wine production very serious even when it comes to Pinot Grigio or Prosecco. Many of our customers are blown away because of our chosen high end quality level. We get comments like this “This wasn't the typical Pinot Grigio we expected or anything even close to resembling it”. We are convinced that there are always exceptions in every industry.
Pinot Grigio does not have to be called thin. We are very sad that the reputation of Pinot Grigio in the U.S. still is underestimated. The critical press gives a Pinot Grigio no chance, but some intelligentsia can make the difference between a good Pinot Grigio from places like Friuli. Tracy knows that the grape has an amazing potential. "Look at Pinot Gris in so it’s not the grape that's the problem. It’s the industrially produced, large-quantity of Pinot Grigio’s which did well. Our Pinot Grigio Channing ($22.00) is made in the traditional Friulian style. It smells fruity, drinks dry, and is fresh—a wine you'd want on a first date”.
Many wine snobs look down on Pinot Grigio, but we are proud to say that we like it as long as it’s our SYLTBAR Pinot Grigo. Although finding it can be a challenge because we only have a certain quantity of our fine wines to keep the quality level. Still you can go to a value grocery store like Milams Markets in Miami to purchase it there or you find it in our SYLTBAR online store.
The Terlato Wine Group invented the Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio in 1979, which put it on the radar of American wine drinkers.
The wine was a success. Soon, other importers were bringing in a steady supply of Pinot Grigio’s because of its demand. However over the time more and more producers began to turn out mediocre and started bottling industrial quantities.
Today, finding a real quality Pinot Grigio is a minefield. Too many offers of range from bland and dilute to full-bodied and elegant. Prices vary accordingly as do opinions and the result is that many wine lovers avoid the category. We know that they are unfortunately missing out.
Excellent Pinot Grigio has a darkly colored, gray-blue grape. It can be made clean, everyday Whites as well as fine wines with personality and complexity like our SYLTBAR Pinot Grigio. The best ones are mineral driven, with mouthwatering pear, peach, apple flavors offset and the explosion of almonds offering the wine just enough weight to backup.
So welcome to our SYLTBAR Pinot Grigio world, called White Linen. It is so much more than you ever would expect from just consuming another Pinot Grigio. It is worth to try it. Certified by the Green Project and very low on calories. A 6 oz glass only contains 125 calories. Enjoy SYLTBAR White Linen.
