2010 Attems Pinot Girgio

The 2010 Attems Pinot Grigio comes from Friuli–Venezia Giulia in the extreme northeast corner of Italy, nestled next to Slovenia and Austria. It's a place where Romance, Germanic, and Slavic languages crash into each other, and the region has changed hands many times over the past twenty centuries. (Indeed, the current borders weren't officially determined until a treaty was signed in 1975.) The capital city Trieste has a fascinating history that includes a 170 year stretch as a free port in the 1720s-1890s and another run as a sort of city state after WWII.

2010 Attems Pinot Grigio
Venezia Giulia IGT
$20, 12.5% abv.

The English version of the site doesn't have a lot of information, but from the Italian one we learn that 15% of this spent some time in oak while the rest was matured in stainless steel. Overripe peach and apricot, with a slight dusky undertone. Low acidity with a medium body and a clean finish. Great when chilled, but it is also enjoyable at room temperature. Quite good if you're looking to upgrade from the ocean of $10 Pinot Grigio, and there's enough depth here to enjoy it with a lot of different foods.

The meal was driven by the weather, not by the wine. But in a nod to italy, I made Memphis-style barbecue sandwiches with ciabatta bread, which is definitely an improvement over the usual cheap hamburger buns. What is Memphis-style? Usually pulled pork topped with a sweet molasses-based sauce and a mayo-based cole slaw. Some places chop the smoked pork shoulder instead (I prefer pulled), some use a mustard-based cole slaw (sometimes fun for a change), and I personally tend to throw a few dashes of hot sauce in there.

On the side, nothing too special... some sliced tomatoes, baked beans, and a couple of hot and spicy pickled okra. Frankly when you get a craving for pickled okra there is really nothing else that comes close. I discovered that pickled okra and good Pinot Grigio are a really wonderful match, with the low acidity wine and the high acidity okra pod.


Note: This wine was received as a sample.