To Gris or not to Gris…..is probably not the question that vexed Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Although it could have.

The grape predated The Bard by about 400 years. And - as an ancient mutation of pinot noir with about eight different names depending on where it’s grown – pinot gris somewhat personifies the vicissitudes of life that Hamlet’s speech ponders.

But it is in Australia that is at the forefront of whether the grape should be styled as a grigio or as a gris.

That’s because of the number of Italians living and making wine in Australia, according to winemakers with intimate knowledge of the country.

The Italian Job

Tim Cox of Allegiance Wines says regions dominated by Italians – such as King Valley in Victoria’s north-east – are hardly likely to style the grape as a pinot gris when all their other wines are Italian varietals. Think sangiovese, nebbiolo, prosecco and fiano for example.

Of course, pinot grigio is also the signature Italian style of the grape. It is considered to be fresher, lighter and simpler than its French equivalent and is often grown in large commercial quantities on the Venetian flats.

Industrial-scale production of the grape in Italy – the world’s second largest wine exporter after France – also adds pressure to shelf prices, says Cox who produces both styles.

A quick survey of the top 20 pinots gris and grigio exhibited at last year’s Australian wine shows supports this view.

Consumer nightmare

The top 20 pinots grigio sell for an average price of $22 per bottle while the top 20 pinots gris sell for an average of $30 – nearly 40 per cent more.

Cox says the grape’s schizophrenic presentation is confusing.

“Pinot Gris is a nightmare for the consumer,” he says. “Bottles of the two styles are usually jumbled together on the shelves and the names often don’t reflect the styles or the bottle shapes and glass colours.”

“It’s the most confusing varietal of all because most people don’t understand that it’s a difference in style, not the grape itself.”

Cox said he made the wine in both styles after being presented with a bumper crop in the first year of owning the Tumbarumba vineyard where his pinot gris is grown.

Different strokes

Although he would have preferred to pick them separately – grapes for both styles were harvested together over two days and fermented separately. The grigio was fermented at 14 degrees to preserve freshness and acidity while the gris underwent a “standard” ferment closer to 20 degrees to extract colour, tannins and flavour.

Cox said the gris was also left on lees for longer with some pressings. Oak staves and “a small percentage of chardonnay” were added to the tank to enhance the wine’s texture.

His aim was to make two styles that suited different occasions.

“We like to make a grigio that’s zesty and zingy with fresh fruit that suits a hot sunny afternoon with friends on the deck,” he said. “We like our gris to be richer, rounder and slightly more serious. It also has a slightly pink hue.”

He said introducing the two styles was a “really good education piece” for visitors to the winery who often found it hard to distinguish between the two.

Splitting twins

Pinot Gris exhibits dominated the Australian wine shows last year. Whereas New Zealand makes pinot gris almost exclusively, the style accounted for two-thirds of the 383 individual labels presented at Australian wine shows in 2025.

However that split was reflected unevenly when it came to wine show scores. Grigio labels were awarded about the same number of trophies and gold medals as gris but the latter style dominated the minor medal count. Gris labels scored twice as many silver medals as grigio and 40 per cent more bronze medals. Overall, the two were hard to separate with grigio labels only slightly outpointing their gris relatives on an average basis.

Australian wine shows assessed 757 pinot gris/grigio exhibits last year. That was down 17 per cent on 2019.

Our list of Australia’s top 2025 Pinot Gris/Grigio labels follows:

The full list of the top Australia Pinot Gris/Grigio of 2025 is available below to our subscribers:

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If pinot noir is the highly strung, thin-skinned, fickle mistress of grapes - its mutant sister probably shouldn’t be much better.

Pinot gris is also thin-skinned and grows in tightly-clustered bunches - attributes which encourage disease and uneven ripening.

But pinot’s “grey” version is comparatively easygoing, according to one of New Zealand’s leading winemakers.

That’s partly because of its treatment in the winery, says Matt Connell.

Whereas pinot noir gets the works – partial or whole bunch fermentation, maceration and oak maturation – its paler relative typically enjoys a much simpler regime.

The Acid Test

In New Zealand, that generally means a long, slow, cool ferment in stainless steel with some aromatic yeasts and maybe some lees stirring to add texture.

Connell, whose wines come from Central Otago, says the grape is also helped by the area’s high diurnal range.

“We have really high acidity in Central Otago,” he said.

“That helps the grapes carry higher sugar levels and keep them in balance. It makes for a much richer wine style which I like.”

Connell said there was some local experimentation with the variety in terms of fermentation vessels. Concrete vats, stainless steel eggs and amphora were all being tried by winemakers wanting to add texture and complexity to the variety.

Pinot gris is traditionally fermented in large, old oak vessels. However Connell said he avoided any oak exposure as maturation in even old or “neutral” wood tended to “dry out” the wines.

Stirring the Pot

He preferred to add texture through lees exposure and some stirring in tank.

Perhaps the most important development in NZ pinot gris has been the move towards drier styles.

As with riesling, NZ pinot gris has tended to carry higher residual sugar levels in the past with wines often presenting as off-dry.

Connell said NZ drinkers now appeared to be following a global trend towards drier wines as they became more experienced with different varieties.

Wine show judges assessed 257 New Zealand pinot gris exhibits last year across 167 individual labels.

Unlike Australia, where one-third of all pinot gris is produced in the lighter “grigio” style, only four of the 167 labels judged here were presented as “pinot grigio”. All four were destined for the Australian market.

Our list of New Zealand’s top Pinot Gris of 2025 follows:

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The full list of the top New Zealand Pinot Gris of 2025 is available below to our subscribers:

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