Rather, there is an on-going campaign by producers and importers to get Americans to look differently at pinot grigio, whether it’s Oregon and California pinot gris such as J, which a little more expensive and has more fruit, or Italian wines in the $12 to $15 range like Bollini and Alois Lageder.
The story’s highlights, after the jump:
• Pinot grigio is the second most popular white wine in the U.S. after chardonnay, according to Nielsen. Sales increased almost nine percent last year, eight of the top 10 brands saw sales bumps in 2012, and four of them grew by double digits.
• Pinot grigio drinkers are extremely brand loyal and price sensitive. A Florida retailer told me that it’s almost impossible to get his customers to switch, even to a pinot grigio that is more less the same price, or a cheaper wine with a similar style.
• How cheap is cheap? Nine of the top 10 brands cost less than $10 a bottle, and four of them cost less than $7.
• Quality remains uneven. Surprisingly, I’m not the only one who thinks this. One of the comments I heard repeatedly was just how ordinary most of the wine is.
• Which, apparently, is why pinot grigio is so popular. Much of It may not taste like much, but it doesn’t have any off flavors and it fits the American idea of what a dry wine should be. Sadly, too many wine drinkers don’t understand the difference between fruity and sweet.
• The other reason for its popularity? Consumers know how to pronounce pinot grigio, so they aren’t embarrassed or intimidated when ordering it a restaurant.
Finally, I did not discuss the Santa Margherita issue – is it worth what it costs? Santa Margherita, which retails for more than $20 a bottle, is the best-selling pinot grigio in the country, and the only one of the top 10 that costs more than $10. So that’s not something that people who read trade magazine stories about pinot grigio want to talk about.
I always have to resist what it is I really want to say when someone orders Santa Margherita, and lets out that "I don't believe you don't have it " gasp. I don;t have it because it is over priced, and not a value. Try something else.
Posted by: brian burns | July 15, 2013 at 12:06 PM
As a former sommeliere, I concur with the above by Brian. People see ads for Sta Marherita swill and it is something they can remember.
I spent many years talking people OUT of Sta. Margherita, but they still love it. I once got a patron to taste an Oregon Pinot Gris and he loved it, but I doubt that he would remember Elk Cove or Willamette Valley PG.
Posted by: Marlene Rossman | July 15, 2013 at 04:06 PM