ALTERNATIVES TO PINOT GRIGIO

I remember my first taste of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. It was in 1977 and I'd bought the bottle at the urging of Dick Phillips, owner of Phillips Fine Wines in Stockton, a pretty town on the Delaware in Hunterdon County. My, it was delicious. And just under $5. It became my house white.

How the mighty have fallen. Santa Margherita's pinot grigio today tastes factory-made to me, utterly without personality. In fact, as I tasted a batch of Italian pinot grigios to find a couple I could recommend to a poster on this blog, I only could come up with two reasonably priced bottles I could say were not bad at all: Kris and Zemmer. They're nice.

But if what you like is what pinot grigio used to be, there are other white-wine grapes out there in the $10-to-$20 price range that I bet will satisfy your quaffing needs. From Italy, look for the grapes malvasia (particularly from Friuli), verdicchio, vernaccia and greco di tufo; from Sardinia and Corsica, look for vermentino. From Spain, look for whites made from the albarino grape. If you're looking for a kick-off wine for a dinner party, consider trying prosecco, a light, vivacious bubbly from northern Italy. Prosecco producers to seek out: Bisol, Bortolotti.

From my tasting for our blog buddy, I heartily recommend the Naia, Burgans and Martin Codax albarinos. Absolutely fabulous, and a terrific sub for pinot grigio, is the Macchalupa Greco di Tufo. Consider, too, the Campo al Mare Vermentino and the Terruzi & Puthod Vernaccia. If I can move any of you on to something ever so slightly fuller in body, I'm a huge fan of the Domaine Champalou Vouvray. That's French, however, and something of a different animal. But it's fun.

So, Mr. Pinot Grigio fan, swirl, sip and learn about a new grape or two. There's more to white wines than a varietal that got hugely popular -- and stopped being worth its suddenly inflated price.

Cheers,
Andy
1.30.07