A Tour of Wine Grapes: Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris 🥂

Pinot Gris is a natural color mutation of the famous red wine grape, Pinot Noir. They are genetically identical, except Pinot Gris has a pinkish-gray skin.

It originated in the Burgundy region of France during the Middle Ages. In 1375, it was exported to Hungary by Cistercian monks at the request of Emperor Charles IV. The monks planted it along Lake Balaton, where it was nicknamed the "Grey Monk" (Szürkebarát). It eventually traveled to Switzerland and Northern Italy, where its popularity skyrocketed

Pinot Gris berries take on their distinctive array of colors; anything from orange-pink to pale, dusty purple. The adjective Gris is French for "gray", and refers to the dusty, light-gray sheen the grapes often take on. This convention is widely used in Europe, notably in Italian where it is called Pinot Grigio.

Even though the Pinot Gris grape has dark skin it produces a white wine. If the winemaker were to leave the juice sitting on the skins for a short time, the wine would turn a copper-pink color. In Italy, this traditional style is called Ramato.

Pinot Gris wines are produced from grapes that are picked later, when they riper whereas Pinot Grigio wines have sharper acidity due to being harvested early.

Pinot Gris wines have bright aromas of lemon, green apple and pear but can also have deeper flavors of peach, apricot, mango and honey.

Pinot Gris wines are meant to be opened and enjoyed immediately.

Serve Pinot Gris very cold, between 45°F and 55°F (7°C to 13°C) which can be achieved by putting the bottle in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 hours before opening.

Behind the Cork™ - Tobin James Ballistic Zinfandel

2018 Tobin James Ballistic Zinfandel ($17)

When a local grape harvester showed up at with six tons of Zinfandel grapes that he was willing to give away, Tobin “Toby” James, a young assistant winemaker at the time, asked if he could have the grapes to make his own wine.

"Sure kid, knock yourself out," the owner replied.

A year and a half later, Toby’s first wine won double gold medals, and a spot on The Wine Spectator’s coveted "Top 100 Wines of the Year.” Tobin James Cellars was born.

For the next few years, Toby quietly produced his own popular small-batch wines, tasting and selling them out of a local wine shop in Paso Robles. Then in 1993, Toby finally took the plunge and built Tobin James Cellars.

In 1996, Toby was joined by partners and winemakers, Lance and Claire Silver, who updated and expanded the winery to what it is today.

They call Ballistic Zinfandel "Paso in a glass" as it is made up of 100% Zinfandel sourced from 27 individual vineyards from the diverse AVAs that Paso has to offer.

Ballastic Zinfandel is deep purple in color with aroma of black fruit and sweet tobacco leaf. On the palate, this full-bodied wine is rich and delicious with dark jammy fruit flavors and a peppery finish.

This 2018 Tobin James Ballistic Zinfandel is a great tasting wine that’s affordable and attainable. A perfect fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

A Tour of Wine Grapes: Pinot Blanc



Pinot Blanc 🥂

Pinot Blanc (pee-noh blahnk) originated centuries ago in Burgundy, France. It is not a separate grape species, but a natural, white-skinned color mutation of the red Pinot Noir grape. In fact, it shares the exact same genetic DNA fingerprint as Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.

It wasn't until 1895 that grape experts officially identified Pinot Blanc as its own distinct variety. Eventually, Burgundy phased it out in favor of Chardonnay.

Today, Pinot Blanc thrives in cool-climate vineyards across Europe and the New World, changing its name and personality depending on where it is grown. For example, in France, it serves as the base for Crémant d'Alsace which is France's most popular non-Champagne sparkling wine. In Germany, it is known locally as Weissburgunder. And, in Italy, it’s called Pinot Bianco.

The Pinot Blanc grape produces medium to full-bodied white wines with aromas of green apple, lemon zest, pear with floral notes. On the palate, these wines are described as zesty and refreshing with flavors of citrus and stone fruits, with moderate to high acidity.

Serve Pinot Blanc well-chilled between 45–50°F in a standard white wine glass

Behind the Cork™ - Zaca Mesa Z Cuvee

2019 Zaca Mesa Z Cuvée ($15)

Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards was founded in 1973 by John Cushman and five friends, who purchased the property the year prior.

As the third winery established in Santa Barbara County, experimentation was an integral part of Zaca Mesa’s early days. Several different varieties were planted to see which grapes would be the best suited to the estate’s unique terroir. After many trials, Zaca Mesa’s first winemaker, Ken Brown, planted Syrah in 1978, establishing Zaca Mesa as the first to plant Syrah in Santa Barbara County. This block of Syrah remains the oldest Syrah block on the Central Coast and is now known as the Black Bear Block.

These grapes were purely estate-grown across unique blocks. Syrah comes from the high, flat tabletop of the Mesa Block (1,400 feet elevation). Grenache is harvested from the sloped, shale-loam soils of the Cushman Block. Old-vine Mourvèdre and Cinsault are selected from the Chapel and Mariposa blocks respectively.

Each of the four varieties was harvested, de-stemmed, and fermented separately. After primary fermentation, the separate lots were transferred into neutral French oak barrels. The wine rests in these barrels for 15 months. After the aging period, the winemaker blended the components together to create the exact 57% Mourvèdre, 29% Grenache, 11% Syrah, and 3% Cinsault ratio.

Zaca Mesa Z Cuvée (which means “blend”) is medium ruby in color with nice aromas of cherry and red currant. On the palate, this medium-full bodied wine has flavors of black cherry and boysenberry. The tannin is medium-low resulting in a wine that’s drinkable right out of the bottle and leads to a smooth, balanced and somewhat spicy finish. [ABV: 14%, TA: 0.59 gm/100 mL, pH:3.55]

This Zaca Mesa Z Cuvée is a really nice wine (I went back for more!) that’s a great value, too. That makes it a perfect fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

A Tour of Wine Grapes: Petite Sirah

Petite Sirah 🍷

Petite Sirah (peh-teet-sear-ah) was created by French botanist Dr. François Durif in the mid-1860s in an attempt to develop a vine resistant to mildew. The grape is also known as Durif in honor of its originator.

Unfortunately, the grape was largely discarded in France because its tight clusters were prone to rot in wet weather.

The grape was imported to Northern California in 1884. Today, more than 80% of the world’s planting of Petite Sirah are in California.

Petite Sirah is not the same as Syrah and is distinct from petit syrah which French growers use to describe small-berried clones of true Syrah.

Because the Petite Sirah berry (i.e., grape) is so small, it has a very high skin-to-juice ratio. This results in wines that are opaque with inky black-purple color.

Aromas include blueberry, violets, dark chocolate and black tea.

Flavors tend toward to black fruit such as blackberry and sugarplum along with cracked black pepper.

Because of the thick skin, Petite Sirah wines are considered a full-bodied and have very high tannin. The acidity tends to be medium to high.

It is commonly said that there is nothing petite about Petite Sirah.

Petite Sirah is very good for aging because of its very high tannin. High quality bottles can easily age for decades.

Serve Petite Sirah in a red wine glass at 60-68 F after decanting for at least an hour.