Pighin Pinot Grigio

Lee Barczak

I had a chance to enjoy the Pighin Pinot Grigio last night for dinner. I am not always a pinot grigio fan.  I sometimes find pinot grigio a wine that is hastily made and often disappointing, but not this one I am pleasantly surprised to say. It had that floral bouquet that lovers of pinot grigio are usually fond of, but there was a sense of other aromas as well.  The nose was perhaps a bit nut-like on this wine.  It was fleeting but made it fun to guess at. The mouth feel was silky and yet clean; nothing odd about the finish.  I served it cold so there was also a real crispness to it that I really liked. This was great with my salad and some of the cheeses we nibbled on. It seemed to me it would go well with a lot of spicy Asian dishes I love. Whether or not you usually drink pinot grigio, I would recommend trying this one.

Dave's Tasting Tips

David Ferrie

A customer came into the wine shop the other day. As I always do, I went over to her and asked if I could help her pick out a good wine. She said, “No, I’m just looking.” About 10 minutes later, she came to the register with a bottle of Pinot Grigio. I jokingly said to her, “So, you lied to me. You weren’t just looking.” After a bit of banter, the customer revealed, sheepishly, that she didn’t have much experience with wine and was embarrassed to ask for help because she didn’t even know where to begin. With that we went back to the racks. After asking a series of questions, we selected an opulent Pinot Blanc that the customer later reported she loved.

 What this customer lacked was not the ability to taste good wines. She had, as it turns out, a very sensitive palate. What she lacked was the ability to describe in words the flavors and textures her taste buds were experiencing. Lots of people have the same difficulty. I think that if people could describe the types of flavors they like and dislike, a good wine consultant would be able to match them with a wine they will enjoy. It’s worth it to spend a little time developing your taste/word vocabulary. If you doubt me, think of all the wines that disappointed you that you may have selected based on how nice the label looked.