The StoryThe Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio 2018 is 100% Pinot Grigio sourced from the Tiefenbrunner estate (founded 1848) vineyard in the Vigneti Delle Dolomiti IGT district of Trentino-Alto Adige region of far northern Italy. Vigneti Delle Dolomiti is located in the foothills of the Dolomite Mountains which are part of the Alps Mountain chain. This part of Italy is as much German as it is Italian, with most villages having both a German and an Italian name.The IGT wine designation loosens the rules and regulations that winemakers in DOC and DOCG areas have to adhere to. Trentino and parts of Veneto are the leading growing regions for Italian Pinot Grigio with Alto-Adige being the elite area and wines from there commanding the highest prices. But the conditions in the district allow many locations to grow excellent Pinot Grigio grapes.The Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio is sourced from a vineyard with mature grapevines (planted 1985 or older). This Pinot Grigio was fermented in stainless steel tanks and them aged in cement vats for 4 months. Cement vats are not yet common in US winemaking but are used often in Italian and French wines. The cement tanks are lined to keep out odd flavors and the sides are thick enough to provide the aging wines stable temperatures and humidity.Caves are often used as wine cellars since the temperatures and humidity in a cave a constant and developing wine perform best with consistent climate conditions. Stainless steel tanks are fairly thin-walled and while they provide several advantages for the winemaking process are not as efficient with climate control as cement vats. The alcohol content is 12.5%.The Tasting NotesThe color is a very clean, clear pale wheat yellow. The nose is ripe citrus, along with Golden Delicious apple, peach and a bouquet of flowers. This is a rather tasty Pinot Grigio, light and delicate, but rich flavors and well-balanced acidity (some Pinot Grigio from this general region can overdo the acidity). It starts with a mix of grapefruit, lemon, and lime, and then pear, and a little gentle spice. The mid-palate adds guava, a salty sensation, a hint of minerality, and a late dash of juicy peach. One thing I always enjoyed about Pinot Grigio was the layers of distinct, but subtle flavors and the Tiefenbrunner does well in this regard. The acidity is in the pocket, the flavors unfold, but the acid does not bite. The finish is subtle but does not quit any time soon.The Summary * I was talking to someone recently who has family in Rome and they made the comment that folks in Italy do not spend more than $10 for a bottle of wine unless it is a very special occasion. I found the Tiefenbrunner for $11.99 in Chicago, which would put it under ten bucks back in Italy. * It is a delicious Pinot Grigio. * Not only are the flavors pleasing it has enjoyable mouth-feel and texture, but it is also a well-made wine. Check out the Companion Podcast Below !!!!
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hey this is Dave again from cheap
windfinder.com and another Companion
podcast which is what I do over and over
and over again and because that’s what
we do on the website we do wine reviews
and
they we’re doing it again and this one
is from Italy it’s a pinogregio it is
called the uh teen Bruner
pinio it’s from the um uh Dolomite
Mountain area of trantino Alto ad uh
which is the way up in the northern part
of Italy um in this area most of the
towns have German and Italian names and
people were as likely to speak German as
they do Italian it’s way up there in the
Alps the dolomites are um this this this
is a t beru has been around since 1848
or something like that um and they’re in
the foothills of the Dolomite mountains
which from what I can tell is one of the
most beautiful spots on Earth and it’s
an IGT wine that area doesn’t get doc or
docg regulations in Italy they have
rules and regulations for making wine um
that’s the doc wines the docg wines IGT
still has rules and regulations but
they’re looser they they don’t make as
many wines it has to be a wine that is
representative of the region but it
doesn’t have to follow these very very
strict rules and so that’s a good thing
especially when we’re talking about
inexpensive pinogregio
and this is a bottle I found on sale for
$1.99 which uh reminded me of something
I had a conversation with someone who
has U family in Italy I think their
their parents Came From Italy and they
they visit Rome on a regular basis and
they’re saying that people in Italy
don’t spend more than $10 for a bottle
of wine unless it’s a really really
really you know uh special occasion that
you know because you know when they have
a meal when they’re cooking you know
basically it’s Farm to Market they go to
the market every day and cook up a meal
they’re having a wine that’s two or
three or whatever and this $1.99 aino
giio um if it’s if it’s 12 bucks in
Chicago it’s probably
$98 in Italy so that’s kind of Falls in
place with that and that’s kind of cool
and that’s something that I mean
reminded me um a lot of Americans don’t
have that mindset that um oh oh it’s
only that much money it can’t be very
good where in Europe it’s like why are
you spending more you if I’m having a
very very special occasion I’m going to
buy a very special wine but today we’re
going to have a meal and this is this is
the wine we use and it’s $6 or $7
whatever the euro conversion is and I’m
going to have a sip of this because this
is actually a really flavorful pinio now
I used to have a issue with pinio wines
which I’m going to get to after I take a
sip now I’m much more sensitive to
acidity in wine than I am to alcohol in
wine I mean I back in the days of crazy
Australian sheras there would be Shas
with 17.5% alcohol which wouldn’t bother
me at all it wouldn’t affect me any not
affect me but I I couldn’t on my on The
pallette Taste any more than a 12.5% I
mean some people can I know oh that’s
hot but I never got that feeling but um
an acidic wine would bother me I mean I
would U you know it it would burn it
would I it wasn’t a pleasant experience
and
pinio especially back in the day not so
much anymore I’ve had a uh had a string
of really good Pinos in the last few
years would be athetic and it would be
like ah not for me and so but nowadays
they’re not so much they have this
balanced acidity and I don’t know if my
pallets changed or they changed and but
somehow we both have come together and I
actually like being AIO now and one of
the wonderful things about pinio is all
the kind of the delicate flavors it
has nothing stands out it just has these
really cool citruses sometimes you know
ripe pear and apple and maybe some soft
spice little salty thing A little maybe
a little bit TR not too much traffical
but some kind of maybe a juicier kind of
fruit
they’ve always had these very delicate
flavors and that that was and they had
layers of it too that’s one thing good
acidity does is allows the wines to
unfold and you get these layers of uh
flavors unfolding on your pout which is
kind of a fun thing and the one thing
the I got to keep on looking at it
because of the tiffen Bruner that’s when
I’m thinking Italian wine I don’t
normally think of German names but this
region will have German names and like I
said it’s been there since 1848 so
obviously you know obviously they belong
there and so this is a very tasty
well-made not all that expensive pinio
and it’s going to have another sip
because it’s in my hand I’m looking at
it so I might as well drink
it it’s got really good mouth
feel um it kind of engages your pallet
which for a inexpensive wines a really
nice thing where they you know sometimes
they taste great and sometimes they do
this right sometimes they do that right
this one has like a few things going
it’s got the acidity balc it’s got the
mouths happening it’s got the flavors
going on so it’s it it’s a wine that
kind of has its act together and you
know it’s kind of funny you know um I
think I’m backwards I drink more white
wine in Winter than I do in the summer
you know oh it’s too hot to drink uh red
wine well no I’m if it’s 95 de outside
I’m in the air conditioning
I can drink anything I want in air
conditioning you know in the winter time
you know sometimes clean and crisp kind
of matches what’s going on outside so
that’s not a bad thing so here we go the
tiffen burner pinio from the I’m going
to pronounce what area is cuz it it is
the ven Del damti IGT area the foothills
of the dolomites it’s not Alta Al Alta
ald is where the expensive ones come
from um
they have very good um pagio from
alad uh but that doesn’t mean that other
areas don’t also have very good piog
Gros too I mean you know sometimes the
best ones out of there come in the $25
range is a very famous One um Santa
Margarita which is $189 very you know
one of the Le that’s without Santa
Margarita you wouldn’t know pagio exist
they put it on the map but you know they
it is a more expensive region but just
because one region is well known and
famous doesn’t mean that the other ones
are lacking in any way or their wines
are lacking in any way you know that’s
just you know a lot of what we know
about wines comes from you know uh sames
who are working for restaurants or
people writing for magazines and those
are for restaurants and collectors and
that type of thing and that’s the kind
of wines that those magazines talk about
especially in the P you’re talking about
Al but you’re just drinking a wine on a
Tuesday for dinner you don’t need Al
though it’s good I mean if you if you
can find a good one buy it but these
other wines are perfectly good for the
and tastes great this wine is a really
well-made delicious wine I mean yeah the
elto dudes get a better name and it’s a
doc or a d doc G1 and this one’s an IGT
it’s like the third level not the top
level but I don’t care about what level
it is as long as it’s good and it is
really good so keep that in mind when
you’re looking for
pinio I like pan Grio I didn’t used to
the acidity is great on this thing it
tastes delicious it’s well made and I’m
very happy to be drinking pinio in
January so that’s it for me uh we’ll
have more wines coming up probably more
white wines because it’s winter and I’m
backwards but um yeah what are you going
to do so keep it cheap over burn out and
adios this is Dave I’ll be talking to
you next couple of days byebye
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