This Is How Pinot Gris Should Taste

Medium body + low alcohol + stone fruit = buy a half case for the fridge.

Township 7 Estate Pinot Gris 2014 $17.50I don’t actually drink much Pinot Gris and when I am poured a glass it often re-inforces my slight aversion. It’s not that the grape, as interpreted by the Okanangan, is bad. Quite the contrary, it’s almost always quite good. It’s reliable, it’s consistent, it’s the Lexus of BC Wine. What it lacks for me is excitement. I’ve had several occasions to taste several glasses blind and there’s zero chance I could tell one from the next (other than the Kettle Valley, which is pinkish-hued).But this wine is different.In years past Township 7 has added a small (15%) amount of Gewurtztraminer to emphasize the floral notes, but they’ve dropped that practice this year in favour of 100% Naramata-grown Pinot Gris (which is pricey real estate for a grape that attracts no premium on the shelf). 2014 had great growing conditions so I was pleasantly surprised to see this wine check in at only 12.5% alcohol and with small amount of sweetness to help emphasize the apricot and pear notes—and it stood up admirably to some spicy chimichurri sauce (see the recipe here) atop a halibut filet. Above all, it was different—I would pick this wine out of a Pinot Gris blind taste test…at least half the time.