Bollini Pinot Grigio 2011

Hello and happy wine Wednesday!  It is the first day of Spring and I could not be more thrilled that the days are longer and the temperature is on the rise.  A special note on this happy day - one of my dearest friends is marrying her love in Malibu, California... sending special 'love' vibes down your way, N and D! XO

OK - now for the wine.  Do I have a treat for you this week!  As Pinot Gris/Grigio was the wine variety voted on by many of you for this months grape variety - some of the comments I received asked for new wines of your favourite grape.  Well - you can thank me later!

On the review block this week is non other than Trentino, Italy's Bollini 2011 Pinot Grigio.  This winery was started in 1979 by Neil and Maria Empson and is based out of Milan.  Coming in under $20 at $18.99 in the BCLS, this is an amazing little wine.  Having said that, I only found it in one of the North Shore liquor stores - the Signature store at Park Royal.  I checked on line for my 'Islanders' and there are bottles in Port Alberni and quite a few in Vancouver...

In the glass, Bollini's Pinot Grigio is watery pale lemon colour and has a medium aroma intensity with notes of green apple, lemon, stone fruit (white peach) and a bit of minerality.

On the palate, this Pinot Grigio is more complex than many Italian Pinot Grigios' I have tasted.  It is dry with medium plus acidity and medium alcohol.  The body was medium minus with medium flavour intensity.  Sounds kind of like a 'medium' wine, right?  Well - trust me - it isn't!  In the mouth, the gorgeous combination of lemons and green apple and peach really blend well together and are rounded out by an under layer of limestone minerality.

As I have said before - there seems to be a huge backlash against Pinot Grigio lately.  This Italian lovely defies that.  Bollini's Pinot Grigio is not a complex wine, but personally, I am not ALWAYS in the mood for a complex wine.  Sometimes, I want a fantastic bottle to open up, enjoy with friends and simply enjoy it.  Bollini's Pinot Grigio is a fantastic example of what a good Italian Pinot Grigio can taste like - there is more 'going on' in this wine than most Pinot Grigio's I have tasted and it is my new favourite PG from Italy!  It gets a solid "Hell Yes" from this girl!

• Try this Bollini 2011 if you want a new PG on your list of favourites.
• At $18.99 - this wine is a bargain and a wonderful hostess gift for a spring or summer party!
• Pair with a light green spring salad or a chicken dish with lemon juice.

That is it for today - my lovely readers.  

As always, thank you for reading!

Enjoy!

XO

C