Pinot Grigio in Italy is not one wine but two, and this is the northern one. In the Veneto, the grape is picked early and pressed clean, so the juice never sits on its skins. That is why the glass is pale rather than the faint onion-skin pink that gives Pinot Grigio its name in Alsace, where the same grape is left in contact with its skins and turns out copper. Bottega works across the Veneto, and this is the delle Venezie style at its most direct: 2023, light-bodied, dry, twelve percent alcohol.
- Pinot Grigio, the only grape here.
- delle Venezie IGT, the appellation covering the Veneto and Friuli.
- 2023 vintage, a warm and generous year in the north.
- Light body, medium acidity, low tannin, dry.
- 750ml bottle, 12% alcohol.
How it is made
Pinot Grigio is a colour mutation of Pinot Noir, which is why the skins carry pigment and why the wine only stays pale if the juice is separated from them early. The delle Venezie IGT covers a wide sweep of northeastern Italy, from the Veneto plain up to the foothills of the Alps, and the best fruit comes from the higher ground where cool air holds the acidity in place.
How it tastes
Green apple and pear lead, with citrus behind them and a note of white flowers, elderflower and acacia among them. There is a mineral edge that keeps the fruit from sitting flat, and the finish is clean rather than sweet. Medium acidity, low tannin, light in the mouth.
Good to know
Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris are the same grape, separated by language and by fashion. France made it round and copper-coloured; Italy made it lean, pale and dry, and the Italian reading is the one that travelled the world. The delle Venezie DOC was only created in 2017, which makes it one of the youngest appellations in the country.
