Pinot Gris with a difference

Now Pinot Gris, or Pinot Grigio, has many incarnations: from crisp quaffable numbers to serious stickies; from Italian aperitifs, to nobly rotten German or Alsatian dessert offerings; but surely the wine above, a Ukranian fortified Pinot Gris must rank as one of the more unusual wines made from this grape. Made only since 1991 from Pinot Gris grown in the South Coast mountains, it undergoes two years of oak maturation before release. This 2007 South Coast Pinot Gris was amber in colour, with an orangey sweet fruity nose. The sweet orange notes followed through to the palate where it was well supported by an acid backbone full of orange notes.