Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen De Thann Clos St. Urbain 2010

Winery: Zind-humbrecht

Varietal: Pinot Gris

The Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris grape varietal is now one of the most widely grown vines in the world, due to the surge in popularity of Pinot Grigio wines over the past twenty years or so. These grayish-blue fruits, which hang in their distinctively conical bunches, are responsible for a very broad range of wines famous for their variety of color tones and flavors Pinot Grigio varietal grapes are highly influenced by terroir, climate and particularly the skill and expertise of the vintners who process them. As such, there are full bodied, amber colored wines made from this grape, and there are equally delicious yet far leaner, paler, lighter bodied and crisp white wines made from the same species in other parts of the world.

Region: Alsace

Alsace is a particularly fascinating region of France when it comes to wine and wine culture. The long, slender Germanic style bottles we often see coming out of Alsatian wineries have become iconic of the region's wine industry, and for centuries, such bottles have been the favorites of the crowned heads of Europe. Riesling and Gewurztraminer have always been the two primary grapes of Alsace, however, there are nine different varietals permitted by French law, most of them being used to make white wine. Alsace produces over a hundred million liters of wine per year, which are exported across the globe and enjoyed by people seeking a fine wine offering something a little different. As such, Alsace is an important global wine producing region, with a character and set of flavors and features which are all its own.

Country: France

France is renowned across the globe for its quality wines and the careful expertise which goes into making them, but what is truly remarkable about this relatively small country is the vast range of wines it produces in such huge amounts each year. Not only are the finest red wines in the world said to come from the beautiful regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy, but elsewhere in the country we find the Champagne region, and areas such as the Rhone Valley and the Loire, whose white wines consistently receive awards and accolades by the plenty. This range is a result of the great variety of climatic conditions and terrain found in France, coupled with generations of wine makers working within single appellations. Their knowledge of specific terroirs and grape varieties has, over time, perfected the production of wines within their region, and the end results continue to impress the world to this day.