Wine of the week: McManis Family Vineyards, 2009 California Pinot Grigio

Pinot gris and pinot grigio are twins of a sort, but fraternal twins.

While they're made from the same white grape, each has a distinct style of its own.

The winemakers behind our wine of the week winner — the McManis Family Vineyards, 2009 California Pinot Grigio — say their house style helps distinguish their pinot grigio from pinot gris in the marketplace.

"Our house style can be characterized as clean, crisp and full of fruit, with the fruit leaning towards lemon, lime and grapefruit," according to winemakers Mike Robustelli and Jeff Runquist.

"We believe that (pinot grigio and pinot gris) can be divided into two camps, pinot grigio tending to be crisper, with citrus characteristics and with no oak influence. Pinot gris tends to have more stone-fruit characters and some oak influence as well as slightly more body."

In Italy and California, the wine is known as pinot grigio, while in Oregon and France, it's known as pinot gris.

The Italian version of pinot grigio is typically dry (not sweet) and light, with a mineral taste to it. California's take on pinot grigio tends to be richer in flavor, but still has the mineral taste.

Often, they finish with a lemony or citrusy flavor. French pinot gris wines tend to come from the Alsace region.

These are more fruity and flowery than their Italian counterparts, though they still have that mineral aroma. Flavors can range from peach to grapefruit to melon.

While our flight of pinot grigio and pinot gris showed well, the McManis was a standout because of its bright flavors, its minerality and its budget appeal.

The $10 price tag makes the McManis a great everyday wine to sip during the final stretch of summer.

Robustelli and Runquist say their winemaking collaboration works well. It's like "a well-run three-legged race," they joke.

"We do not perceive any challenges. We work well together. .

.

. The advantages are that we have two sets of sensory input for each wine that we produce." Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 521-5310 or melniknote@aol.com.

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 521-5310 or melniknote@aol.com.