What Kind of Wine Is Sutter Home Pinot Grigio?
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is a semi-sweet white wine from St. Helena, California. And it is multi-awarded. In 2017 it received the Gold medal from the San Francisco Chronicle. Similarly, in 2019 it was awarded the Gold during the Toast of the Coast wine festival competition. In this way, Sutter Home Pinot Grigio guarantees high quality. Even if most consumers are unaware of it, Pinot Grigio is the most imported wine variety in the United States. Pinot Grigios are light-bodied and elegant or medium-to-full-bodied and creamy and make a natural pairing with salads, oily fish, or appetizers.
The variety is indigenous to Burgundy, France, but now it is grown everywhere. It is most associated with Italy. There, it produces large quantities and quality wines. So, Pinot Grigio is grown throughout Northern Italy in Veneto, Umbria, Trentino and Alto Adige, and Friuli. Depending on the region, vintage, produce, and retail price, Pinot Grigios range from light to medium to even full in body, exhibiting green fruit notes, as well as riper tropical fruit flavors, nice acidity, and uplifting minerality.
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio Review
- Winery — Sutter Home
- Country/Region — United States, California, Napa Valley County, St. Helena
- Type — Californian Pinot Grigio
- Aroma — Honeysuckle, Pear, Apple, Lemon, Lime Zest, Strawberry
- Grapes — Pinot Grigio
- Taste — Pineapple, Guava, Peach, Grapefruit, Lemon-grass, Honey, Dill, Almond
- Alcohol Content — 13.2%
- Sugar — Semi-Sweet
- Pairing — Seafood, Brie Cheese, Spicy Latin Food
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is super pleasing. With its fresh floral aromas and juicy green and tropical fruit flavors is always in season. The inherent sweetness also is fantastic. It adds a unique creaminess that reminds the best off-dry wines of Alsace. For this reason, only, wine lovers should go ahead and try Sutter Home Pinot Grigio. It is really marvelous being able to enjoy such a treat-of-a-wine. I recommend it.
Tasting Notes
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio wine has bright aromas and juicy flavors. It begins with floral fragrances blended with green and citrus fruit scents. In the mouth, the wine shows flavors of pineapple and stone fruits. On top of that, touches of almond complement the lingering finish, while the acidity is lively and refreshing. As a consequence, Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is palatable and pleasant.
Appearance
Sutton Homes Pinot Grigio wine has a delightful appearance. It starts with a medium lemon-green color that opens into a translucent center. A moment later, a medium lemon tone surfaces on the sides, adding shiny reflections. Furthermore, the tears of the wine are long, watery, and nice-looking. Sutton Homes Pinot Grigio, therefore, is beautiful!
Aroma
On the nose, Sutter Home Pinot Grigio shows floral redolences of honeysuckle. Next, green fruit aromas of pear and citrus elements, such as lemon and lime zest, follow. And they provide freshness and crispiness. A hint of strawberry also unearths, just as wine enthusiasts set the glass on the table. That berry touch is delicate, adding a distinctive elegance to the aromatic profile.
Taste
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is ripe in the mouth with a unique tropicality. Pineapple and guava flavors lead the way as tastes of peach blend with grapefruit, shaping the palate. Creaminess from honey notes also combines with hints of lemon-grass and dill, manifesting in a flamboyant tasting experience. Meanwhile, the brisk acidity is refreshing and counterbalances the sweetness, giving pleasure to wine fans. In this way, Sutter Home Pinot Grigio remains crispy but structured.
Finish
The finish is medium but lingering, with almond flavors creating a superb aftertaste. Sutter Home Pinot Grigio, therefore, ends the tasting profile nicely. In fact, it is very approachable and fulfilling. On top of that, the back palate sees subtle mango touches. These increase the exoticness of the wine. Perfect!
Rating
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is a laid-back wine, very approachable. It makes an easy recommendation. With white flowers on the nose and an exotic mouthwatering palate, Sutter Home Pinot Grigio balances crispiness and sweetness. It is well-crafted and of good value. You have to try it to get the experience. So, buy it!
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio Food Pairing
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio makes a superb pairing with seafood, creamy cheeses, and spicy Latin food. Visit your local fish market and buy a bunch of shrimps, prawns, and calamari. At home, put them for boiling. After five minutes, remove them from the pot and fry them to your heart’s content. Serve on a plate with a few greens on the side along with a glass of Sutter Home Pinot Grigio. Bliss!
Furthermore, do also try to combine the wine with Brie cheese and some crackers. They make excellent appetizers. And you can even accompany Sutter Home Pinot Grigio with Cuban empanadas, Taco braid, or Asado de Puerco (Puertorican pork stew). Be careful, though, as some of these turn out quite spicy! However, the spiciness is offset so nicely by the sweetness of Sutter Home Pinot Grigio. Try them!
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Makes Sutter Home Pinot Grigio?
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is a product of Sutter Home Winery, located in St. Helena, California. Founded in 1890, the Sutter Home Winery was closed during Prohibition and reopened in the late 1940s. Then, the Trinchero family bought it, reopening it in 1948. Sutter Home created the iconic American rosé, white Zinfandel, in the 1970s. Specifically, in 1975, the 1974 vintage White Zinfandel suffered a stuck fermentation, leaving the wine with a light pink color and about two percent residual sugar.
Sutter Home’s customers loved this wine style, though, and by 1987 White Zinfandel had become the best-selling wine in the United States with over 4.5 million cases sold. Today they offer more than twenty crowd-pleasing varieties, including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Moscato, and Sangria.
How Is Sutter Home Pinot Grigio Made?
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is a semi-sweet white wine just like Pinot Gris wines from Alsace. Winemakers at Alsace attempt to recreate the sweet white wine of Hungary called Tokaji. Up until 2007, Alsace could even use the worlds Tokay d’ Alsace on their bottles of Pinot Gris. Today, Alsace is one of the few regions producing a sweet style of Pinot Gris. California is attempting to follow Alsace, making their own version of Pinot Gris. In an effort to achieve the Alsatian style, winegrowers harvest the grapes late in the season to increase their concentration in sugars and flavors.
They also take advantage of the noble rot to maximize flavor potential. Noble rot is possible in California, near the coasts, as fog increases the appearance of rot. Noble rot or botrytis is a fungus that decays wine grapes. It causes the water inside the grapes to evaporate, leaving behind only the grape juice, thus, intensifying flavors. It bestows a caramel and honey element to the wines. Sutter Home Pinot Grigio grapes are left to rot on the vines before being picked up.
Then, they are destemmed, crushed, and pressed to release their juice. Afterward, that juice is clarified to conserve flavor intensity and goes into stainless steel vessels to undergo cold fermentation. Additionally, Sutter Home Pinot Grigio might undergo malolactic conversion to increase in body and soften, round its mouthfeel. When the fermentation is over, the wine is filtered from sediments and bottled.
Where Is Sutter Home Pinot Grigio Made?
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is from St. Helena, California, where vineyards inspire, offering remarkable fruit. California is considered the center of the American winemaking industry. The Mediterranean climate provides crucial warmth to the vines, resulting in elegant wines. Unlike wines produced in other parts of the world, Californian wines prefer to conserve their refreshing fruitiness in favor of structure and great elaborateness. They remain delicate, ignoring unnecessary complexity.
St. Helena is in the north of Napa County. It receives the warmest daytime temperatures and produces some of the most concentrated, full-bodied wines in the region. Cool air through the Chalk Hill and the Mayacamas Mountains provides relief from oppressive afternoon temperatures. The also much cooler nighttime temperatures preserve acidity in the grapes. Although Cabernet Sauvignon is the focus here, Zinfandel and Syrah are also grown.
How to Serve Sutter Home Pinot Grigio?
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is best served in medium-sized white wine glasses or tulip glasses. The large surface of the glass gives the wine essential aeration. As the air comes into contact with the wine surface, the aromatic and flavor intensity of the wine rises. Furthermore, Sutter Home Pinot Grigio needs chilling at fifty to fifty-four degrees Fahrenheit (ten to thirteen degrees Celsius). Two hours before serving, take the bottle, wrap it in a wet paper towel, and place it inside the fridge. Then, uncork it and delve into juicy personality.
In addition, Sutter Home Pinot Grigio has to stay cool during service. To do that, use an ice bucket or wine cooler. The bucket should be filled three-quarters full with equal quantities of ice and water so that iced water surrounds the bottle. The water is then able to transfer the heat from the bottle to melt the ice. Air acts as an insulator, and the bottle chills. However, keep in mind that over-chilling overshadows flavors in wines.
How Much Does Sutter Home Pinot Grigio Cost?
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is very affordable. In fact, it has an extremely low price-point. Sutter Home Pinot Grigio price ranges from $4 to $11 per 750ml bottle, depending on the merchant. Sutter Home Pinot Grigio, therefore, is budget-friendly and everyone can afford it. So, wine fans should go ahead and buy it as it makes a great daily wine choice.
How Long Does Sutter Home Pinot Grigio Last?
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is bright and fresh, and therefore it has to be consumed young. If it stays too long in the pantry, the decline of its vivid varietal character increases. And that is something no wine enthusiasts should want. That said, Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is semi-sweet. So, it might benefit from slight aging. Generally, wines with grippy tannins or a high alcohol and sugar concentration withstand maturation. In case you decide to mature it, the wine should be sealed with a cork and stored in an environment with room temperatures that do not fluctuate (fifty to sixty degrees Fahrenheit or ten to fifteen Celsius), and a portion of humidity.
Direct sunlight or artificial light should be kept at bay, as they may cause irreversible damage. Intense exposure to light rearranges the chemical compounds found in wine, like oxygen and temperature, and causes wine faults. That means that the wine ages prematurely, and its aromas, flavors, and even color change for the worse. The resulting wine is known as light-struck. Odors also must be avoided, as they might find their way inside the bottle. If they do, they usually instill unwelcome aromas and flavors, like intense animal sweat or vinegar. However, do not let the wine mature over two years. Expect Sutter Home Pinot Grigio to develop aromas and flavors of dried apricot, fig, prune, and an intense nuttiness.
How Many Calories Does Sutter Home Pinot Grigio Have?
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio has a low caloric density. There are about 22 calories in 1 fluid ounce of the beverage, equating to almost 114 calories per serving. The calories breakdown is 0 grams of fats, 0 grams of sodium, 4 grams of total carbohydrate, 1 gram of protein, and almost 15 grams of total sugars. Sutter Home Pinot Grigio calories, consequently, are low. Wine fans, therefore, have nothing to worry about when consuming the wine. That is unless they are on a low-sugar diet. As a semi-sweet wine, Sutter Home Pinot Grigio has a relatively high sugar concentration.
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio alcohol content sits at 13,2%. That is the standard alcohol concentration for a semi-sweet and medium-bodied Californian white. Keep in mind that unless specified on the label, most wines are not vegan. During winemaking, wines are clarified through fining, where the most commonly fining agents are animal-based. Vegans, consequently, need to consider this information before taking a sip of Sutter Home Pinot Grigio.
Conclusion
Sutter Home Pinot Grigio is super pleasing. With its fresh floral aromas and juicy green and tropical fruit flavors is always in season. The inherent sweetness also is fantastic. It adds a unique creaminess that reminds the best off-dry wines of Alsace. For this reason, only, wine lovers should go ahead and try Sutter Home Pinot Grigio. It is really marvelous being able to enjoy such a treat-of-a-wine. I recommend it.
