New Zealand Pinot Gris

Mouth-filling, rich, refreshing. An intense pleasure, whether refreshingly light or richly complex.

New Zealand Pinot Gris is fresh and full-flavoured, with notes of apple, pear, honeysuckle, spice and bread.

It is more akin to Alsace in style than the drier Pinot Grigio. 

Grown throughout the country, the warmer North Island climate tends to create ripe, fat, oily styles whilst the cooler South Island produces tighter wines with great structure.

Barrel ageing, fermenting with native, wild yeasts, and lees stirring are common winemaking practices in New Zealand to build texture, mouthfeel and complexity.

Breaking on to the New Zealand scene in the early 1990s, Pinot Gris has enjoyed a dramatic rise to fame and is now our third most popular white variety.

“New Zealand’s cooler, maritime climate engenders numerous more phenolic, Alsatian-inspired, waxy textured (Pinot Gris) wines imbued with great complexity and nuance”

Neal Martin, www.eRobertParker.com

Regional styles of Pinot Gris

Marlborough

The cooler South Island produces tighter wines with great structure, and persistence with a focus on pristine, pure aromatics and flavours of white peach, red apple skin and cinnamon.

Hawke's Bay

The warmer climates of the North Island regions such as Hawke’s Bay, have a versatility of style. Potentially ripe, rich, powerful and concentrated but with a
diversity of style.

Gisborne

As befitting Gisborne’s generous sunshine and warmer weather, styles are generally rich with ripe peach, baked pear, spice and golden apples, with their fuller bodied rounded palates finishing clean.

North Canterbury

Plantings may be small but the region renowned for its aromatic expression and intensity delivers Pinot Gris with fresh pear, stonefruit, florals and spice, and often touches of quince and fresh hay, plus ginger and cinnamon spice.

Food matching

The gentle acidity and marked fruitiness of a well balanced Pinot Gris perfectly complements roast pork with a stewed pear sauce, or match with creamy pastas, poultry and seafood.

Look for apples, pears, honeysuckle, spice and bread flavours. 

Cellaring and serving

New Zealand Pinot Gris is best enjoyed relatively young, cellar between 1 to 4 years.

For optimal drinking experience, serve New Zealand Pinot Gris at 7 degrees Celsius/45 degrees Fahrenheit.