Review: Corte Giara, Pinot Grigio

Have you ever sat down in a restaurant, looked at the wine list and realized you don’t know most of the wines on the list? I know, with Covid-19 you might not be visiting a lot of restaurants lately, so imagine the same scenario at the shelves of a wine shop or scrolling through the options on an e-commerce wine website.

It’s amazing how many different wines exist in the world. I ponder what that number could be every now and then. I’ve even searched online to see if anyone has done the math, but I haven’t found a reliable answer. I have found speculations that the number is in the hundreds of thousands. With that many options, how can you possibly know which ones to buy?

One way to help narrow your decision is to focus on wine regions and specific styles from within that region. This is the approach I use and it helps me pick wines I’m reasonably confident about even if I don’t know the specific brands.

Some countries have regulated classification systems for their wines that can help you identify the wines by region and style. Such is the case with Italian wine and their DOC system. Although, even when using something like a DOC designation to help you choose wines, you can still suffer from information overload given how many different DOC designations exist. It’s best to find a few go-to designations and focus on those for a while. Then, when you have a good handle on those designations, start looking into others. And if you’re a fan of Pinot Grigio, the delle Venezie DOC is a great thing to add to your wine region repertoire.

Delle Venezie is a relatively new DOC, having been established in 2017. There are a few things that distinguish delle Venezie DOC as a Pinot Grigio region:

• Climate: Pinot Grigio does best when it is grown in a cool climate region, with pronounced shifts in temperature between day and night and average temperatures between 55-59° F. If you’ve ever had a Pinot Grigio that was flabby and bland, it likely came from a region where the climate is too warm for good Pinot Grigio. The average temperature in the delle Venezie DOC is 57-59° F. The Triveneto territory where delle Venezie DOC resides benefits from cool night air from the Alps on one side and from the Adriatic Sea on another side. That cool air helps the grapes develop acidity and more complex aromas.
• Yield standards: The delle Venezie DOC reduced the allowed production yield in the vineyards by 26 hectolitres per hectare less compared to the IGT standard. What does that mean in layman’s terms? Better quality. Lower yields tend to result in grapes with more concentrated flavors, resulting in more flavorful wines.
• Certification: In addition to following all the regulations of the DOC, each wine is tasted by an oenologist tasting commission to ensure the expression of the wine meets DOC standards before it can be labeled with the delle Venezie DOC seal.

It’s important to note that although you can expect some consistency with DOC delle Venezie Pinot Grigio, there will be some differences from one producer to another. Some will be more floral, some will be more herbal, some will be more citrusy, etc. But if you find that you like the Corte Giara Pinot Grigio, chances are good that you’ll like other delle Venezie DOC wines as well. And good news for bargain hunters, most delle Venezie wines I’ve come across are in the $20 or less price range.

It’s also important to note there are different styles of wine produced under the delle Venezie DOC designation, including:

• Bianco (i.e., still wine)
• Spumante (i.e., sparkling wine)
• Frizzante, which has just a touch of sparkling

The Corte Giara Pinot Grigio is produced in the bianco style.

Beyond just looking at the region, designation and style of a wine, I then look for producers I know. In this case, the Corte Giara brand is produced by Allegrini — a producer with a long history in the Veneto region and one I know to make some exceptional wines, some of which can be on the pricey side. They created the Corte Giara brand as a label focused on everyday wines. In other words, lower priced wines meant to be consumed young versus aged.

The Cotre Giara Pinot Grigio doesn’t disappoint. The aromas are really nice, reflecting melon, golden delicious, wild flowers, herbs and wet stone fragrances. On the palate it offers bright apple and lemon flavors with a crisp tartness. In other words, it’s really vibrant and really food friendly. The mouthfeel is pleasant. The finish is long with tart apple and salty flavors.

Wine: Corte Giara Pinot Grigio
Varieties: 100% Pinot Grigio
Vintage: 2019
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 88
Average price: $11.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

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