- Silverstone's previous recommendations

Collavini Pinot Grigio 1998

March 2000

Just to prove I'm not merely a pretty face let's begin with some serious stuff for a change. The Collavini estate and winery are situated in the Castle of Count Gabriel Zuccus di Cuccanea, just spitting distance from the place once known as Yugoslavia. I wonder what they called him when he was at school, it would have taken an entire period just to call his name out at registration...but I digress....

....the Pinot Grigio, in case you were wondering, is known in France as the Pinot Gris and it is actually a red grape, but produces this amazing white wine....and who said learning about wine was kid's stuff..I hate precocious kids! Anyway, the winery is in the Friuli-Venezia region of Italy, so on a clear day you might hear the sound of a gondolier warbling in the distance. Around the neck of the label is a picture of a little doggie above the word "Canlungo" which means "dachshund", the prized pet of the Collavinis or the Count or the gondoliers, I forget who at this point, but it belongs to somebody, and that's why it's on the label.

This particular Pinot Grigio (we're back to the grape now) stayed on the vine for longer than your average grape so it became more intense with a rich straw color, a vaguely hay smelling fragrance and some nuttiness in its flavor. Another jolly good bang for the buck..and nothing to sneeze at - despite the hay bouquet!

Grapes Pinot Grigio

Technical Fermented and aged at low temperatures, entirely in stainless steel tanks and vinified to complete dryness.

Alcohol 12.5%

Food match Aperitif; Eggs; Fish

Serve Chill for 30 minutes in fridge.

Price in USA $11.89 (approx)

Best of the White Bunch

- Silverstone's previous recommendations