($15):  Italy produces roughly 40 percent of all Pinot Grigio even though that grape is not native variety to that country, according to Daniele Cernilli, one of the world’s experts on Italian wines.  As it has become an extremely popular wine in the U.S., the quality has become increasingly variable.  Many are innocuous.  Others, such as this one, are excellent, and explain the original enthusiasm for the category.  Zorutti’s Pinot Grigio displays a whiff of white flowers followed by good weight and cutting vibrancy.  The floral element combines with an enlivening salinity in the extended finish.  The wine’s substance is a welcome contrast to the vapid nature of most mass-marketed Pinot Grigio.
92 Michael Apstein Mar 15, 2022