Each month, David Brenner of Villasfor2 in Abruzzo recommends a ‘Special Italian Wine’ for you to try and enjoy at home – or on your Abruzzo holiday.

Pinot Grigio. Venezia Giulia IGT. 2008. Jermann

Now here's a little winey conundrum. You all know Pinot Grigio. It's the worldwide response to "a glass of white, please"; is made on an industrial scale and consequently usually indifferent but won't actually make you go blind; and as we showed here last year, lurking in the shadows cast by million-litre tanks of the stuff is an actually rather nice summer white that's simply fallen victim to its own popularity and the rampant greed of some producers.

Without unduly stressing yourself, you can pick up a thoroughly decent bottle of Pinot Grigio for €5 or €6. Bought. Drunk. Mmm – nice. Gone. Forgotten.

So what are we to make of this month's offering ? Pinot Grigio from just outside the key production area in Italy's north-east (hence the lowest-rung IGT classification – though that in itself isn't necessarily a death-knell) and costing an eye-watering €13.80 ! 

The key is in the name of the producer. Jermann. Or to be more precise, the current owner of this century-old winery Silvio Jermann who has the reputation of producing the best white wines in Italy. Jermann wines are renowned for their depth of flavour and fruit; purity; longevity; and that mineral 'cut' that's the hallmark of top-class dry white wine.

And are these attributes in evidence in this particular bottle of Jermann Pinot Grigio ? Well, yes, yes, yes, and yes again. But…

Go into this a little deeper and you'll find this bottle selling for £25 in the UK and $35 in the US. So €13-odd in those terms is something of a bargain. And let's not even go where it'd cost once restuarants have thought of a figure and tripled it. And yes, it's a Jermann wine. But…

The problem for me is that Pinot Grigio doesn't have the same stellar scope as Chardonnay; Reisling; or even Sauvignon Blanc. You can make the absolute best bottle of Pinot Grigio it's physically possible to make – and it won't even come within touching distance of the best you can wring-out of Chardonnay, Reisling or SauvB.

This is a really terrific bottle of wine. It honestly is. Everything that Pinot Grigio should be: light, refreshing, limpid – and then a bit more. But "great" ? No. My personal view is that Pinot Grigio doesn't lend itself to making truly great wine. Value for money ? Within the context of what this bottle will cost you outside Italy – then yes, possibly. Really that much better than a bottle of Pinot Grigio costing half as much ? No.

Worth €13.80 ? If you automatically equate price with excellence – then yes. Otherwise, no.

At A Glance:

• This month's 'Special Italian Wine': Pinot Grigio. Venezia Giulia
• Vintage: 2008
• Producer: Jermann
• Designation: IGT
• Grape: 100% Pinot Grigio
• Strength: 13%
• Closure: Cork
• This bottle cost: €13.80

Next Month:

After the whites of summer and with the onset of autumn, time in September to go back to red wine. We'll start with an excellent and ultra-affordable Barbaresco DOCG – a wine you'll enjoy trying at home and on your Abruzzo villa holiday.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 2:48 pm and is filed under Eating and Drinking, Special Italian Wine, Vineyards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.