The Flavor Profiles of Pinot Grigio - AmO: Life Beauty Without Limits...

Are you into pinot grigio but you’re not really sure why? Like, obviously you enjoy it because it tastes good, but you’re sure there are some big descriptive words you would use when describing it, you just don’t know what those words are?

No worries, babe. Put on your most pretentious dress and your fancy-schmancy sommelier spectacles and grab a notepad, because we’re gonna learn you a thing or two about flavor profiles, specifically the ones that make up your favorite pinot grigio.

What is a Flavor Profile?

Okay, you’ve heard this term before when people have explained how something tastes, so you sort of know what it is. The phrase itself is pretty straightforward, but when it’s followed by a whole bunch of terms you don’t understand, it gets confusing. Let’s get you some clarity.

A flavor profile is a full account of the combinations of tastes and flavors that make up something, in this case, the subject is wine. The five senses that you identify in the flavor profile are typically sweetness, saltiness, umami, bitterness, and sourness.

When structuring a flavor profile of a wine, you classify the intensity, body, dryness, acidity, and a few other things about a bottle of wine to put together a full flavor profile of it.

Here is the full flavor profile of a good pinot grigio.

Body

Body refers to the relative weight of the wine on your tongue and how full the flavors are. Something full-bodied would have a robust, rounded-out flavor to it whereas something light-bodied would not linger on the tongue long.

Pinot grigio is considered medium to light-bodied, meaning it leans toward the latter of those two in terms of heftiness.

Acidity

Acidity is kind of like the bite of the wine. It can also affect your tummy and teeth if you’re sensitive to acidity in foods, so it’s important to note when you have other sensitivities to keep in mind when picking a wine.

Pinot Grigio is medium-high acidity, so it will have a biting effect when you take a sip, offering a lot of zing and sensation on your tongue.

Dryness

How is a liquid dry? Well, as you may have guessed, this one isn’t quite literal.

Dryness in wine is measured by how much sugar is leftover in the wine at the end of the fermentation process. In simpler terms, this measures how sweet or not sweet a wine is.

Since pinot grigio is a bit on the sweeter side of life, it is not considered a very dry wine.

Tannin

Tannins come from the parts of the grape themselves, and they are natural antioxidants (so wine is good for you after all). Tannins provide texture and weight to the wine itself, and they are the culprits behind the drying effect that red wine can have on your mouth.

Since pinot grigio is a white wine, it is very low in tannin, which makes it thinner and lighter to sip on.

Flavors

Okay, now let’s get to the real stuff: what does it taste like?

The flavor notes in pinot grigio are primarily described as fruity and floral. These flavors are typically going to include citrus fruit like grapefruit or lemons, something floral like elderflower, and other crisp fruits like pears, apricots, or peaches.

Personality

The personality of a wine is the most fun, but also most subjective, part of the flavor profile of the wine.

Wine personalities are described in the same way we describe people and pinot grigio’s personality can be described as light, airy, and even fun.

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