This wonderfully rich and velvety white wine reveals a full-bodied, opulent and generous character.

The Pinot Gris d’Alsace has weight, roundness and a long finish, balanced out with a superb acidic structure allowing it to have its deserved recognition. This richness that makes it such a good match for foods with strong personalities which it enhances without tiring your tastebuds.

Like foie gras for example. To accompany this singular dish, you need white wine that is neither too light nor too acidic with weight, finesse but also enough intensity to enhance its flavour and inimitable texture. 

With its richness of expression, Pinot Gris sports a natural audacity, able to be matched with dishes usually for red wines. It therefore is a perfect partner for white and red meats such as pork or veal roast, duct, game or even offal.

Its aromatic complexity and unctuous texture are superb with exotic cuisine or sweet and sour dishes like veal in vanilla cream or a tajine with prunes or apricots. These kinds of dishes play to Pinot Gris’ strengths, its capacity to match sweet flavours, such as honey or fruits, and enough structural acidity to provide a foil for the texture of the meats featured in these recipes. 

With its hint of earthy and smoky undergrowth, Pinot Gris d’Alsace makes an admirable match for pan-fried girolle mushrooms, risotto with boletus mushrooms or truffled mashed potatoes.

The Comtés and Beauforts cheeses or in Switzerland the Appenzel and Gruyère require a wine equalling their opulence, especially if they are made from rich pasture summer milk and have been aged for several months. The vinosity of Pinot Gris, as well as its power and length of finish allow it to perform the honours with ease.

A famous legend claims that around 1565, vine plants were brought from the city of Tokay (in Hungary) by the Baron Lazare of Schwendi who served the Austrian House during its war against the Turks. Owner of lands in the Bade region and in Alsace, he apparently ordered these vines to be planted in Kientzheim (where his castle still stands today, owned by the Brotherhood of Saint Etienne). Indeed at this time the wine-growing regions in European countries dreamed of growing this Tokay of Hungary, a strong much-appreciated wine produced using the Furmint variety.

But according to several ampelographers, it seems plausible that the grapes brought by Lazarre of Schwendi were not actually related to the famous Hungarian wine. Pinot Gris, originally from Burgundy and known for its qualities and abilities to produce very concentrated wines, was finally given this name after initially being called Grauer Tokayer.

Besides its specific vine and taste properties, it’s more its tormented name history which drew the attention of the vine-growing and wine-producing world. Called Grauer Tokayer before 1870, Pinot Gris was then successively name Tokay Gris, Tokay d’Alsace, Tokay Pinot Gris and finally on April 1, 2007, Pinot Gris.