The girls and I needed a little R&R the other night. Ended up with two bottles of wine (Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio, 2010 & Berringer Pinot Grigio). Although the Berringer was a complete disappointment, the Ecco Domani Was worthy of not only a second taste, but a wine review.
As I am by no means a wine Sommelier, nor an expect in vinticulture, or just vino in general, so therefore the wine review below was 'borrowed' from eccodomani.com. No copywrite infringement intended.
http://www.eccodomani.com/italian-wine/pinot-grigio.asp
Ecco Domani 2010 Pinot
GrigioGrapes for our wine come from the Northeastern "Tre Venezie" region of Italy, where the Pinot Grigio grape has been cultivated for more than a century. The Pinot Grigio grape is genetically related to Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc, and is easily subject to color mutation. The skin color of the grapes can range from a bluish gray to a delicate pink, depending on the clone and the geographic zone. In fact, the word “Grigio” means gray in Italian, although the juice is drawn off the skins before they impart a tint to the wine.
Description
After a cold winter and spring, May and June 2010 saw some hot weather, allowing the vines to catch up on a somewhat slow start. A good level of moisture in the soil made for some excellent growing conditions, resulting in yields that came in about average but with promising fruit. Harvest began about 8-9 days later than the previous year. Some areas saw rain during harvest period, but this was intermittent. Most of the vintage came through with good acidity and sugar content. In the final analysis, hot days combined with cool nights resulted in an excellent vintage.
Viticulture Notes
The Tre Venezie is made up of three smaller growing regions: Trentino Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. With a climate known for “cool nights and warm days,” conditions in the Tre Venezie are conducive to exceptional grape maturation. Ecco Domani meticulously combines the inherent strengths of the fruit from each of these premier regions to create full-flavored wines with superb colors and wonderful aromas, backed by fine levels of intensity.
Winemaking Notes
The juice was fermented at 18ºC three weeks in temperature-controlled tanks. After settling, the wine was cold stabilized, filtered and bottled under sterile conditions, avoiding malolactic fermentation and preserving the fruit characteristics of the wine. The wine was aged two months on light lees to preserve freshness.
Tasting Notes
This wine has a clear, straw yellow color, with light golden reflections. A low concentration of surmaturo grapes gives the wine tropical fruit notes that make this unique vintage truly exotic, with apple and pineapple aromas and flavors. The wine is light bodied, with a pleasantly soft palate and a long finish.
Finished Wine
Varietal Content: 88.5% Pinot Grigio, 11.5% Chardonnay
Varietal Origin: Delle Venezie
Alcohol Level: 12.49%
Residual Sugar: 0.35g/100ml
Titratability Acidicity: 0.57g/100ml
pH: 3.41
