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The best wines from the Global Pinot Grigio Masters 2021

09 August 2021 By Patrick Schmitt

Anyone who dismisses Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris, as nothing more than an entry-level tipple does so at their peril – it’s a grape of quality and versatility, as proved by the medalists from this year’s Global Masters.

THERE’S NOTHING wrong with associating Pinot Grigio with the provision of simple, inexpensive, and light refreshment, because the grape does that job particularly well. After all, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay can be divisive in style, and, should you step beyond these best-known white grapes, you may end up straying beyond your planned budget – and Pinot Grigio is often at the entry point on wine lists, or retailers’ shelves.

However, should you only link this grape with crisp, bargain whites, you’d be doing it a disservice. Pinot Grigio is one of the world’s most versatile varieties, and more winemakers are embracing its many faces. As we saw during this year’s Global Pinot Grigio Masters, the grape can yield delicious sparkling wine; sweet whites with varying degrees of residual sugar, and dry whites in a range of styles, from the delicate to full-flavoured creamy oak-aged statements.

And with each case, the results can be outstanding, proving that Pinot Grigio can be used to craft truly fine wines. Indeed, the high points in this year’s Masters tasting show that this grape is underrated for its quality potential, as well as for its versatility. So, don’t be fooled into thinking that you have to move away from Pinot Grigio when climbing the vinous ladder, or trying something barrel-fermented or sweet.

Read on for the judges comments and the results in full from this year’s Global Pinot Gris Masters, while click here for my top 10 Pinot Grigios of 2021, and click here for eight surprising facts about the grape, which were drawn from 2021’s competition.

Judges’ comments

Andrea Briccarello
“The tasting confirmed once again the consistency of many producers particularly in the Veneto: the wines were very solid with plenty of easy drinking and crisp style. It also proved that Pinot Grigio’s place on wine lists is not going to leave at any point soon, because the wines are clean and fresh, zingy and can be complex too. While I enjoyed the wines form the east of Italy, I was pleasantly surprised by the New World versions as well, which showed plenty of varietal character and great style.”

Simon Field MW
“The tasting was positive, and the anticipation of dull wines was not actually borne out; the best examples married notes of lemon pith, almond essence and a keen acidity. Overall we saw consistent, very good value samples in the sub-£10 category and lots of Silvers in the £10-15 bracket. I found that the fantastically named Californians (Ménage à Trois and Three Thieves) were less flamboyant than their names may have suggested; quite serious, in fact. There were examples from Trentino and Abruzzo that fared well, and were a credit to their regions.”

Sparkling Pinot Gris

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
Under £10
Barefoot	Barefoot Bubbly Pinot Grigio	California	USA	NV	Silver
Viticoltori Ponte	Pinot Grigio Spumante DOC Brut	Veneto	Italy	NV	Bronze
£15-£20
La Cantina Pizzolato	Sparkling DOC Delle Venezie Extra Dry M-Use	Veneto	Italy	2020	Silver
La Cantina Pizzolato	Sparkling DOC Delle Venezie Extra Brut So Easy	Veneto	Italy	2020	Bronze

Unoaked Pinot Gris

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
Under £10
Citra Vini Soc. Coop.	Sistina	Abruzzo	Italy	2020	Gold
Castello di Roncade	Pinot Grigio DOC	Veneto	Italy	2020	Silver
Cantine di Ora	Il Casato Pinot Grigio Valdadige	Trentino	Italy	2020	Silver
Cielo e Terra	I Castelli Pinot Grigio DOC	Veneto	Italy	2020	Silver
Casa Vinicola Bosco Malera	Bosco dei Cirmioli Pinot Grigio DOC delle Venezie	Veneto	Italy	2020	Silver
Citra Vini Soc. Coop.	Farinelli	Abruzzo	Italy	2020	Silver
Barefoot	Pinot Grigio	California	USA	NV	Silver
Barramundi Wines	Barramundi Pinot Grigio	South Eastern	Australia	2020	Silver
Enoitalia Spa	VOGA Italia	Veneto	Italy	2020	Silver
Cavit	Terrazze della Luna Pinot Grigio Trentino DOC	Trentino	Italy	2020	Silver
Viticoltori Ponte	Pinot Grigio DOC delle Venezie	Veneto	Italy	2020	Bronze
Kris Winery	Pinot Grigio DOC delle Venezie	Friuli-Venezia Giulia	Italy	2020	Bronze
Cielo e Terra	Cielo Pinot Grigio DOC	Veneto	Italy	2020	Bronze
Citra Vini Soc. Coop.	Citra Pinot Grigio IGT	Abruzzo	Italy	2020	Bronze
Concilio	Il Pino Pinot Grigio	Trentino	Italy	2020	Bronze
Concilio	Sentiero dei Pini Pinot Grigio	Trentino	Italy	2020	Bronze
Enoitalia Spa	Pendium Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DOC	Veneto	Italy	2020	Bronze
Cavit	Mastri Vernacoli Pinot Grigio Trentino DOC	Trentino	Italy	2020	Bronze
£10-£15
Marisco Vineyards	Leefield Station Pinot Gris	Waihopai Valley	NZ	2020	Gold
Ménage à Trois Wines	Limelight Pinot Grigio	California	USA	2019	Gold
Three Thieves Wines	Three Thieves Pinot Grigio	California	USA	2019	Gold
Cantine di Ora	Kellerei Auer Pinot Grigio DOC	Trentino-Alto Adige	Italy	2020	Silver
Cielo e Terra	Bericanto Pinot Grigio DOC	Veneto	Italy	2020	Silver
Marisco Vineyards	The Ned Pinot Gris	Marlborough	NZ	2020	Silver
Pradio Vineyards	Pradio Priara Pinot Grigio DOC	Friuli-Venezia Giulia	Italy	2020	Silver
The Iconic Estate	Hyperion Pinot Grigio	Dealu Mare	Romania	2018	Silver
Cecilia Beretta by Pasqua	Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DOC Grigioluna	Veneto	Italy	2020	Silver
Pasqua	Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DOC	Veneto	Italy	2020	Silver
Cabert – Cantina di Bertiolo	Pinot Grigio DOC Venezie	Friuli-Venezia Giulia	Italy	2020	Silver
Wakefield/Taylors Wines	Wakefield Taylors Pinot Gris	Clare Valley	Australia	2020	Silver
Wakefield/Taylors Wines	Hotelier Pinot Gris	Wrattonbully	Australia	2020	Silver
Antonutti	Pinot Grigio DOC Friuli	Friuli-Venezia Giulia	Italy	2020	Silver
Cavit	Bottega Vinai Pinot Grigio Trentino DOC	Trentino	Italy	2020	Silver
£15-£20
Albino Armani	Corvara	Veneto	Italy	2020	Gold
Cavit	Rulendis Pinot Grigio Trentino Superiore DOC	Trentino	Italy	2019	Gold
Banfi	San Angelo	Tuscany	Italy	2020	Silver
SeaGlass Wine Company	SeaGlass Pinot Grigio	Central Coast	USA	2019	Silver
Black Box	Pinot Grigio	California	USA	NV	Bronze
£20-£30
Domaine Zind-Humbrecht	Pinot Gris Roche Volcanique	Alsace	France	2018	Master
Domaine Zind-Humbrecht	Pinot Gris Roche Calcaire	Alsace	France	2018	Gold

Oaked Pinot Gris

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
Under £10
te Pa Family Vineyards	Montford Estate	Marlborough	NZ	2020	Silver
£10-£15
te Pa Family Vineyards	te Pa Pinot Gris	Marlborough	NZ	2020	Silver
Under £10
Nals Margreid	Punggl Pinot Grigio	South Tyrol	Italy	2020	Gold

Rosé Pinot Gris

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
Under £10
Cavit	Terrazze della Luna Pinot Grigio Rosato Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT	Trentino	Italy	2020	Silver
Viticoltori Ponte	Pinot Grigio Ramato DOC delle Venezie	Veneto	Italy	2020	Bronze
Barefoot	Pink Pinot Grigio	California	USA	NV	Bronze
Concilio	Il Pino Pinot Grigio	Trentino	Italy	2020	Bronze
£10-£15
Antonutti	Pinot Grigio Ramato Friuli DOC	Friuli-Venezia Giulia	Italy	2020	Bronze

About the competition

With high-quality judges and a unique sampling process, The Global Pinot Gris Masters provides a chance for your wines to star, whether they hail from a famous region or a lesser-known winemaking area of the world.

The top wines are awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stand out as being outstanding in their field receive the ultimate accolade – the title of Pinot Gris Master.

Please visit The Global Masters website for more information, or, to enter future competitions – giving you the chance to feature online and in print – please call: +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at:
sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com

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