When was the last time we featured a Pinot Grigio? Honestly I can’t remember either. Thanks to some very large brands, this classic variety has become synonymous with safe, simple, almost purposefully neutral grocery store wine over the past couple of decades. However, the truth is that the grape itself is very capable of producing the exact opposite, and the best examples come from the Alpine foothills of Friuli. Daniel Drius of Simon di Brazzan is a rising star in this region, and his Pinot Grigio is one of my favorite examples of how satisfyingly complex this wine can be–richly textured and perfectly balanced by mountain acidity and minerality. And it’s not just a top notch example of Pinot Grigio, it’s a candidate for the top tier of Italian white wine, period. If you still think that all Pinot Grigio is created equal, the only thing to do is grab a few of these deliciously different bottles and find out what I’m talking about!
Daniele Drius is a fast-rising star on the Friulian wine scene. He inherited a small farm from his grandfather, which included vineyards and some wine production in the town of Brazzano di Cormòns, but over the past 10 years he’s been re-planting vines and implementing organic and biodynamic farming practices. His vineyards are situated right where the Collio and Isonzo del Friuli DOC appellations meet, with soils composed of ponka (a sandstone-marl mixture) along with gravel and clay. This area is effectively equidistant from the Julian Alps, which extend into neighboring Slovenia, and the Adriatic Sea. The Cormòns area is regarded as Friuli’s greatest white wine terroir, situated in foothills in the shadow of the Julian Alps—effectively equidistant from the Julian Alps and the Adriatic Sea. This push-pull of mountain- and sea-borne air is the key to the region’s success with white wines: Vines are refreshed every evening, which lengthens the growing season to heighten aromatics and preserve acidity, but there’s also enough warmth and sun to deliver ripeness and depth.
Daniele hand harvests his Pinot Grigio in several passes, between late September and early October, when ripeness is maximized without the loss of acidic structure. The grapes are fermented slowly in steel tanks and pressed off after a few hours of skin contact, which results in the beautiful, copper and rose-gold flecked color. Pinot Grigio (gray Pinot) is not actually a white grape–when fully ripe it is a gray-pink color–so if you allow enough skin contact it can become a deep magenta. That style is called Ramato in Friuli, and Daniele makes one too, but it is important to note that this wine is not Ramato, just a very traditional Pinot Grigio that has a touch of color.
After resting in the same steel tanks over the winter to allow for natural stabilization and filtration, the wine is then bottled. However it is not released immediately like the vast majority of Pinot Grigio, Daniele prefers to have his wine rest in bottle for several months before he deems it ready to enjoy. Serve this Pinot Grigio pinnacle in all-purpose stems at around 50 degrees, and after marveling at the beautiful color for a bit you can enjoy a bevy of of aromas with notes of yellow apple, melon rind, dried lemon peel, and yellow flowers along with hints of peanut shell, lees, and wet rocks. The medium-plus body has excellent texture that is balanced by sunny acidity and a surprising bit of minerality. I love this wine with a simple spread of Alpine cheeses and charcuterie, but it’s also lovely with a creamy gnocchi like the recipe below.
