Spice is every sommelier and winemaker’s nightmare; in basic wine-tasting principles, you want wine to pair cohesively with all fruit, acid and alcohol elements integrated with the dish. But what’s the one thing spice does? It exacerbates all those elements in the wine.
However, there’s a hidden power in pinot gris’ neutrality and subtle citrus notes; and its versatility across aromatic spices – from garam masala and coriander root to Sichuan pepper. And there’s no more excellent example of the food pairing potential of this variety than Australia’s spiritual home of pinot gris/grigio, Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
Mike Aylward, winemaker and owner of Ocean Eight, explains the secret to pinot gris’ pairing with spices: “The wine sits almost behind the palate, the weight handles chilli and spices and the acidity cleans and refreshes the palate after every bite.”
“Since we started, the pinot gris has been one of our most consistent styles of wine; that’s due in part to the variety itself being so consistent to work with. All we need to do is barrel ferment as it adds a beautiful richness to the wine,” says Aylward. And with this vintage producing 2500 to 3000 cases, gris production shows no sign of slowing down at Ocean Eight.
Most of the planting material for Australia’s pinot gris began in the vineyard of what is now called Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. This vineyard was first planted in the 1970s by the founding fathers Dr Tony Jordan, Brian Croser and Dr Max Loder. In the late ’80s, winemakers Kevin McCarthy and Kathleen Quealy took cuttings to the Mornington Peninsula to create the first mass planting of pinot gris. Quealy was told about the variety’s potential in Victoria by her university lecturer (who hailed from Alsace in France, which makes arguably the world’s best pinot gris). His insight and Quealy’s tenacity paved the way for Mornington Peninsula to become Australia’s home of pinot gris, with their first commercial release in 1993.
We know the Mornington can make classically aromatic styles of wine, but what about those wanting to push innovation? Winemaker Tim Elphick from Stilvi is entering his third vintage with a focus on exploring the depths of pinot gris. “It’s an extremely complex variety, and we can try different old and modern techniques to preserve acidity and enhance texture,” says Elphick. “I’m playing around with skin contact, inspired by Georgian and Greek wines and their use of qvevri for extended fermentation.”
Quealy explains that Mornington’s coastal plains and lighter soils cause pinot gris and grigio grapes to ripen earlier while retaining natural acidity, creating a generous middle palate without unctuousness that’s perfect for pairing with a variety of dishes. “Pinot gris is rustic – it eschews overdone aromatic characters – it soothes. There’s an almost ozone character, a fresh-air salinity that’s like a breath of fresh air.”
The Mornington Peninsula is located on the traditional lands of the Boon Wurrung/Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. They are the protectors of the lands from the Werribee River to Port Phillip Bay to Westernport Bay to Phillip Island, fertile grounds traditionally used for hunting kangaroo and cultivating native yam daisy.
2021 Quealy Mornington Peninsula
The queen of aromatic whites in the Mornington is a delightful take on classic pinot grigio. Crunchy pear meets ripe yellow peach with a lovely saline minerality. It’s slurpable, gluggable and a benchmark for textural whites in this country.
2019 Kerri Greens Clementine Vendange Tardive VT Gewürztraminer Pinot Gris, $40
A little left of centre but perfect for a spicy stew. A blend of gewürztraminer and pinot gris grapes was left on the vine for an extended time to let botrytis ripen to an extreme. The result? Nectar of the gods with ginger blossom and lychee notes.
2021 Ocean Eight Pinot Gris, $40
This wine displays refreshing citrus flavours of mandarin, cumquat and Granny Smith apples. The Ocean Eight style shines with elegance and a palate weight between classic gris and grigio. The lemongrass notes pair well with ocean trout.
2021 Montalto Savagnin, $40
An excellent Australian aromatic wine. The elevation and red clay soils of Mornington give this wine similar lemon pith and oyster shell characteristics of a Savagnin from France’s Jura region. Perfect with fragrant spices and seafood.
2020 Scorpo Pinot Grigio Tradizionale, $45
Allowing wine extended skin contact increases the beautiful pink notes in the skins. Morello cherry, dragon fruit and subtle spices suit red-braised wallaby tail or duck with Davidson’s plum sauce.
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