Ah, Pinot Grigio, a zesty white wine that is as refreshing as a cold glass of lemonade on a hot summer’s day. The second most popular white wine in America, Pinot Grigio (a.k.a. Pinot Gris) is a dry white wine that has a punchy acidity with flavors of lemons, limes, green apples and honeysuckle.

While most believe Pinot Grigio originated in Italy, it was actually born, like many of the most popular grapes of the world, in France, where it is known as Pinot Gris. Thought to be a mutation of the red grape Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris’ skins are not green like other white grapes, but instead have a greyish blue hue, which is what gives them their name.

The wine was born in Burgundy but found its way to Switzerland in the 1300s, where it was considered a favorite of the emperor. From here the grape made its way to northern Italy, and the real story of Pinot Grigio was born.

In Italy, Pinot Gris became Pinot Grigio and the wine found wide success in the regions of northeastern Italy: Lombardy, the Veneto, Friuli, Trentino and Alto Adige. From its footing in northern Italy, the wine grew to become the most popular white wine in all of Italy, and then the most popular imported white wine in the U.S.

Pinot Grigio has its haters among wine snobs, who claim the wine is too “simple” and “uninteresting,” but this mostly stems from the fact that because Pinot Grigio is so popular, its popularity has resulted in some very bad mass-produced bottles that have given the wine a bad name. One of the best ways to ensure you drink delicious and interesting Pinot Grigio is to simply avoid the budget bottles and the wines being sold under huge mass-marketing campaigns.

The 18 Best Pinot Grigios for 2024

Pinot Grigio wears many hats. It’s most commonly known as a crisp, citrus-driven white wine from northern Italy, but it can also be found in eastern France as Pinot Gris, where it’s revered for producing unctuous and waxy wines. And due to the grape’s unique pink skins it’s also used to make savory and complex skin-contact wines, referred to as Ramato (meaning copper) in some Italian regions.

More recently, the grape has found a home in Oregon, where it’s typically made in a richer style and is referred to as Pinot Gris. There are also great examples coming from the Finger Lakes, California, Germany, and even New Zealand.

While it might be difficult to keep track of all of Pinot Grigio’s identities, it remains one of the most popular white wines in the world. This list covers the grape’s full range of styles, from the light-bodied wines of Italy to the rounded, full-bodied expressions from Alsace and Oregon. There are even a few examples with a touch of skin-contact that reveal the grape’s stunning light pink hue. Here are the 18 best Pinot Grigios for 2024.

The Best Pinot Grigios Under $25

King Estate Winery Artisan Series Pinot Gris 2023

King Estate’s Artisan Series is a collection of wines made with biodynamic grapes from its estate in the Willamette Valley. Aged in stainless steel, this is a fresh style of Pinot Gris with bright aromas of lemon and pear. The palate has more citrus and some tropical fruit notes.

Average price: $20
Rating: 89

Montinore Estate Pinot Gris 2023

Oregon’s Montinore Estate has long been dedicated to biodynamic agriculture — its 200-acre vineyard was Demeter certified in 2008. The estate’s Pinot Gris is classically light and crisp. It has notes of citrus and green apples with a chalky minerality. This is the ultimate crowd-pleasing house white.

Average price: $20
Rating: 89

Van Duzer Vineyards Estate Pinot Gris 2023

Van Duzer Vineyards is the oldest winery in the Van Duzer Corridor AVA, a distinct area in the Willamette Valley that became an official sub-AVA in 2019. The region is known for its cool, windswept climate, which translates into elegant wines with crisp acidity. This bottle has fresh lemon and lime zest on the nose. The palate has more juicy citrus notes and a nice texture on the finish.

Average price: $20
Rating: 90

Anthony Road Wine Company Pinot Gris 2022

The cool-climate Finger Lakes region of New York might be known for its Riesling, but Anthony Road demonstrates that there’s potential for Pinot Gris here, too. With tart green apple and citrus notes on the nose and palate, this wine leans into the variety’s natural acidity and freshness with a linear structure and a mineral tinge on the finish.

Average price: $21
Rating: 91

Marco Felluga Mongris Pinot Grigio 2022

When it comes to Pinot Grigio from northern Italy, it’s hard to find a better site than the hills of Collio. This area tucked into the northeastern corner on the border of Slovenia sits between the Alps and the Adriatic coast, lending a uniquely mild climate that’s ideal for crafting balanced wines. This accessible bottle showcases the freshness that this region provides, with green apple and citrus notes. The palate has an interesting lemon oil-like texture, and crisp acidity.

Average price: $21
Rating: 89

Henry Fuchs Pinot Gris 2021

Henry Fuchs is a small family-owned winery in the heart of Alsace. This hilly, sunkissed region in eastern France is known for its rich and round take on the Pinot Gris grape, and this bottle definitely delivers those ripe flavors. Fuzzy peaches, juicy mango, and lemon oil fill the palate. It sits a bit high at 14 percent ABV, but it’s well balanced and provides a nice depth to the wine.

Average price: $22
Rating: 91

Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris Grande Réserve 2021

The historic Pierre Sparr estate was established by the Sparr family in 1680 in the esteemed Haut-Rhin area of Alsace. This reserve Pinot Gris leans even deeper into the classic Alsatian style with its creamy, rich texture. It has delicate aromas of white flowers and ripe peach notes on the palate. A wonderful option if you’re looking for a full-bodied Pinot Gris.

Average price: $22
Rating: 91

Best Pinot Grigios Under $50

Cantina Terlano Pinot Grigio 2023

Alto Adige, Italy’s northernmost wine region, is known for its elegant and high-quality white wines. This example from Cantina Terlano brings more intensity and complexity than a typical Italian Pinot Grigio. It has aromas of citrus zest, pear, and white flowers on the nose and creamy, lemon curd flavors on the palate.

Average price: $26
Rating: 90

Gustave Lorentz Pinot Gris Reserve 2020

Rather than aromatics or acidity, this Alsatian Pinot Gris is all about the texture and body, showcasing the unctuous, fatty side of the grape. At 14.3 percent ABV, it’s rich and full-bodied on the palate, with subtle notes of lemon, apple, and white pepper.

Average price: $26
Rating: 90

Lucy Wines Pico Blanco 2023

Lucy is a project from the Pisoni family — the same one that’s behind California’s well-known Pisoni Vineyards — inspired by the cool, coastal Monterey Bay region. This wine is named after Pico Blanco, a limestone mountain peak in Monterey County, as a tribute to this area’s terroir. It’s mostly Pinot Gris with a touch of Pinot Blanc that adds an extra aromatic pop and some depth. Notes of grapefruit, lemon curd, and orchard fruit fill the palate, and the coastal influence comes through in the zippy acidity on the finish.

Average price: $26
Rating: 91

Becker Family Pinot Gris 2022

Pinot Gris from Germany? It actually makes a lot of sense considering Alsace is just across the border. (Many of the Becker Family’s vineyards actually lie on the French side of country lines, but are allowed to be labeled as German wines since they’ve been in the family for generations.) This Pinot Gris from Pfalz shows just a touch of the grape’s naturally pink hue from 12 to 24 hours of macerating on the skins. The slight skin contact gives the wine tart strawberry and watermelon notes. If you like Pinot Gris but are looking to shake it up, this is the bottle.

Average price: $27
Rating: 90

Cristom Vineyards Louise Vineyard Pinot Gris 2023

The roughly one-and-a-half-acre Louise Vineyard was first established in 1993 in the Willamette Valley’s Eola-Amity Hills region. The gently sloping Pinot Gris vines rest on a combination of Missoula Flood silts and ancient marine sedimentary soils that lend a distinct minerality. There are some subtle pear notes, but this wine is driven by texture. There’s an unctuous mouthfeel on the palate, balanced by crisp acidity.

Average price: $30
Rating: 90

Jolie-Laide Wines Pinot Gris Suisun Valley 2023

Sourced from the hilly Suisun Valley AVA just southeast of Napa Valley, this Pinot Gris is made with three days of skin maceration, adding a subtle blush pink tone to the wine. It has aromas of white flowers, underripe strawberries, and peaches on the nose. The palate has honeydew melon and stone fruit notes, and the skin contact lends an interesting grippiness to the finish. It’s wonderfully crisp and almost rosé-like in style (and color).

Average price: $32
Rating: 92

Lange Estate Winery Pinot Gris Reserve 2023

Lange Estate has a long history with Pinot Gris. Founded in 1987 by Don and Wendy Lange, the winery is considered one of the pioneers in U.S. Pinot Gris production, and was the first in the country to make barrel-fermented Pinot Gris. This bottling has delicate honeysuckle, citrus, and pear notes on the nose, and the palate is well balanced between alcohol and acidity.

Average price: $32
Rating: 90

Massican Pinot Grigio 2023

Founded in 2009 by pioneering winemaker Dan Petroski, Massican is known for its unique Mediterranean-inspired white blends made with grapes like Ribolla Gialla and Tocai Friulano in Napa Valley. This is the winery’s first-ever Pinot Grigio release, and similar to Massican’s other wines, it’s true to the classic Italian expression. It’s incredibly crisp and bright with subtle notes of citrus, yellow flowers, and honeydew melon. The fresh acidity and sea salt minerality make it a super-quaffable wine to enjoy well chilled on a hot day.

Average price: $32
Rating: 90

Loveblock Pinot Gris 2022

Founded by esteemed New Zealand winemaking team Kim and Erica Crawford, Loveblock is a Marlborough-based project to show the couple’s love of the land and passion for sustainable agriculture. This estate-grown Pinot Gris is aged in-bottle for an extra year and a half before release to allow the wine to develop a more complex texture, and that definitely comes through on the palate. It has notes of lemon oil and melon with a delightfully creamy texture that lingers on the finish.

Average price: $37
Rating: 90

J Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Gris 2023

Sourced from Sonoma’s cool and foggy Russian River Valley, this Pinot Gris from J Vineyards is brilliant and balanced. What most Pinot Gris lovers look for is a certain crisp acidity on the palate, and this wine delivers that in spades. The acid is complemented by green apple and lemon notes and a nice depth on the palate.

Average price: $38
Rating: 90

Peter Zemmer Pinot Grigio Riserva Giatl 2021

This wine from Alto Adige shows the richer side of Italian Pinot Grigio. Aged in French oak for 12 months and stainless steel for six months, it has great intensity and complexity, with a beautiful golden color, and notes of preserved lemons on the nose. On the palate it’s full-bodied at 14 percent ABV, with deep lemon and vanilla notes lifted by bright acidity. This is a Pinot Grigio for the Chardonnay lover.

Average price: $49
Rating: 91

FAQs

What country has the best Pinot Grigio?

Northeastern Italian regions, such as Lombardy, the Veneto, Friuli, Trentino, and Alto Adige, are best known for Pinot Grigio production. However, today Pinot Grigio is widely grown in many countries around the world including the United States, Australia, and France.

Do all Pinot Grigio taste the same?

Specific flavors are dependent on terroir but, generally speaking, Pinot Grigio is a dry white wine that has a punchy acidity with flavors of lemons, limes, green apples, and honeysuckle.

How do you pick a good Pinot Grigio?

Pinot Grigio is a common and often inexpensive wine. Choosing the best bottle relies on professional reviews and general knowledge of producers and regions.

Is Pinot Grigio dry or sweet?

Pinot Grigio is a dry white wine. It boasts a crisp, punchy acidity that lends itself to a drier palate.

VinePair’s Tasting Methodology

Throughout the year, VinePair conducts numerous tastings for our popular Buy This Booze column, and wine and spirits reviews. Our mission is to provide a clear, reliable source of information for drinkers, providing an overview applicable to day-to-day buying and drinking.

Tastings are not typically conducted blind. In alignment with our reviews mission, we believe in purposefully tasting all products as our readers typically would, with full knowledge of the producer, the region, and — importantly — the price.

For Buy This Booze roundups, we typically include a maximum of one expression per brand, though we do allow multiple products from the same production facility (i.e., released under different labels).

For this Pinot Grigio roundup, we considered a number of different factors before finalizing the list. Our overall aim was to highlight the surprising and often underappreciated range of styles this variety can offer. The entry-level bottles represent the best at their price point in terms of balance and concentration of flavor. As for the more expensive inclusions, we felt they justified a higher price point for the category through their nuanced flavors and textural complexity.

The article The 18 Best Pinot Grigios for 2024 appeared first on VinePair.