August 2003

Call it pinot gris or pinot grigio, this popular grape doesn't get too much play in the pairing wine-and-food game. Most often it's thought of merely as a light, simple white, a quaffer to order at the bar or to pick up at the store on the way home from work; its value lies in its ease. Occasionally, it's the star of the show, especially if it's a rich, fruity style from Oregon or a golden grand cru or late-harvested wine from Alsace. And there are styles that fall in between. So with all those permutations, why not play up pinot grigio's strengths? The three chefs I asked from three different pinot gris-strong areas had no problem finding matches: The issue was only "which recipe?" Here are a just a few of their ideas; use them as jumping-off points for your own.

Italy's Blue Jean Wine
  "Pinot Grigio is like blue jeans," says Francesco Antonucci, co-owner of NYC's Remi. "It's daily wine, easy to drink at lunch or at dinner, or at the bar with a few friends in the afternoon." He's speaking of the typical pinot grigio of his native Veneto, as well as those from the neighboring northern provinces. For him, he says, "It's summery wine, easy to drink - I drink it every day."
  He's not exaggerating. Standing at the stoves makes every day feel like the height of August, and a rich red or big, fat, buttery chardonnay is not going to cut it for cooling down after your shift. Italy's made a name for itself with its bright, fresh pinot grigios, made as if their sole purpose in life is to slake the thirst of summer vacationers along the Golfo de Venezia or Lake Garda. This is the wine to order as an aperitif, or to sip between bites of fritto misto. Or, as Antonucci points out, for simple dinners: "I'll drink it with pasta," he says, "or a risotto, simple foods like that. I made a risotto with bacon and green peas last night, and pinot grigio made a fine match; the peas picked up the sweet flavors of the wine. I like it with shrimp risotto with radicchio, too. It's a nice balance between the sweetness of shrimp and wine and the bitter radicchio."
  You could add a side dish of radicchio to the seafood risotto recipe he gives here, but there's no need. The shrimp broth suffuses the creamy rice with sweet, shrimpy flavor, the nuggets of seafood playing up the base. It's fresh and summery, and with a glass of pinot grigio in hand, it's possible to imagine you're sitting by the beach.

Oregon's Evolving Style
  "It's been really nice to watch pinot gris evolve in Oregon," says Greg Higgins, chef and owner of Portland's Higgins Restaurant & Bar. His interest in the grape started during a stint studying charcuterie in Alsace, often regarded as the place where pinot gris reaches its pinnacle. Back in the States, the East Coaster was lured to Oregon when pinot gris was getting hot. "Early on, you got what you expected: pleasant, fruity, fleshy whites. They were patio wines, summer sippers." Nothing wrong with that, as Remi's Antonucci points out (above). But Oregon's style evolved into something else. "Now that the vines have aged, there are more makers, and we know more about the grape as it grows here, Oregon pinot gris are no longer picnic wines," Higgins claims.
  But what do they taste like? It depends. "There are still the popular, pleasant lunch wines," Higgins says, wines that require little thought - or pairing advice. Then there the "bonier, leaner style" wines, as Higgins describes them, citing Eyrie or Evesham Wood as examples. "Russ Raney's wines at Evesham Wood, for example, are earthy, butterscotchy, and finish with a strong mineral and apple component," he says. "I'm not going to go as exotic there as I would with a fruitier wine. To let that flavor show through, I'll make a simple herb sauce, no more."
  The majority of Oregon pinot gris, however, tends to offer lusher fruit flavors and textures, Higgins says. "None reach the same intensity as an Alsace grand cru or vendange tardive, but the best examples hold their own," he says. For these richer styles, Higgins plays the fruit up. "I try to pick up on the exotic notes," he says, "I might use fruit relishes or salsas to play up the fruit, or rich food to echo the texture of the wine." And he doesn't reach far for fitting matches: "Dungeness crab, salmon, local goat cheeses. Or razor clams, lightly pounded and breaded - they're extraordinary, buttery and rich." His list of possible pairings goes on and on, but he points out that you don't have to live in Oregon to enjoy a great match. The recipe he provides here uses any sort of pears; it's the saffron and citrus that give them the exotic edge. And the prosciutto? A reference to Alsace, where white wines are regularly poured for charcuterie and meats - though his ham happens to be cured in his kitchen from Washington State pork.

Alsace's Golden Gris
  "Pinot gris and pinot grigio? It's like they're two different grapes!" exclaims Jean Joho, chef/owner of Chicago's Everest when I mention them in the same sentence. To this Alsace-born chef - and many others - Alsace's pinot gris is beyond compare. "It's a more sophisticated wine," Joho says, "not that it's better; we just have a different approach. With Italian pinot grigios, you're looking for freshness, crispness. Alsace's pinot gris have deep flavors - they are rich, full of apple, peach, honeysuckle, fig, tangerine, spiceÉall these flavors. And then there's that smokiness. It's a totally different wine."
  And Joho uses it in a completely different way than Italians serve their pinot grigio. "One of the best matches is salmon," he says, "or foie gras." Check out the smoked salmon napoleon or the foie gras and apple terrine in a pinot gris gelée next time you're at Everest and see what he means. Both are intense dishes whose richness and smooth texture echo that of Alsace's pinot gris.
  To try at home, however, Joho offers a favorite dish: baeckaoffa, a traditional home-style dish that incorporates three meats. "Most of the time, it's paired with Alsace riesling, but I prefer pinot gris," he says. "Riesling is too high in acidity for me here - the dish is usually cooked in riesling, too, which gives it an acidic taste. Pinot gris is more complex in its honeysuckle, fig, apricot-like tastes, and makes it more inviting."
  Out of the 60 or so Alsace pinot gris he has on Everest's wine list which would he pair with it? "It's hard to say which one matches with what, because there are so many styles. Alsace has many different soils, which give different tastes, and then you have the styles of the winemakers to take into account," he muses. "But I would go for a dry Vendange Tardive. There's all that richness between the potatoes and the meat, and already a bit of an acidic taste in the dish. The richer fruit, the stronger wine makes a better match." Try it and you'll see. This is no dish for a wimpy white, nor can it be strong-armed by a woody chardonnay. Baeckaoffa seems designed for Alsace pinot gris, in all its smooth, sophisticated opulence.

1 bottle Oregon pinot gris
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon saffron threads
2 lemons, zest & juice only
2 oranges, zest & juice only
3 firm pears, peeled and cored
1/2 pound prosciutto, thinly sliced
4 ounces arugula (about 2 large fistfuls)
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
fresh ground black pepper

5 cups + 1/4 cup shrimp stock (recipe follows)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
11/2 cups Vialone Nano rice (or Arborio or Carnaroli)
1/2 cup + 1/8 cup white wine
1/4 pound bay scallops
16 medium-sized shrimp, cleaned and de-veined 
     (dice half, and leave the others whole) 
4 tablespoons butter 
2 tablespoons chopped parsley 
salt and pepper 
8 mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
8 manila clams, cleaned
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
4 sprigs fresh thyme

cheesecloth
2 teaspoons white peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves 
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
shrimp shells from 2 pounds of shrimp, 
   cleaned and dried
2 onions, diced small
2 carrots, diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
21/2 quarts water

1 pound stewing beef, cut into cubes
1 pound pork shoulder, de-boned, cut into cubes
1 pound lamb shoulder, de-boned, cut into cubes
3 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced thickly
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and sliced thickly
2 ounces butter 
flour and water for the seal

4 shallots, minced
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1-2 carrots, chopped 
bouquet garni (a bay leaf plus a few sprigs each of fresh thyme    
     and parsley tied together)
pinch each salt and fresh-ground pepper
1 750 ml bottle Alsace Pinot Gris