Pinot Blanc is a lighter flavored white wine with citrus, melon, pear, apricot and perhaps smokey or mineral undertones combined with characteristic high acidity.

California winemakers frequently get fairly good results by applying the same techniques as they might to Chardonnay, barrel fermentation, lees stirring, full malolactic, etc.

Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a clone or genetic mutation of Pinot gris, which is itself a clone of Pinot noir.

Among the white wines of the world, pinot blanc probably sets the record for the number of ways a wine can be presented in a bottle. Depending on the country in which it is grown and the winemaker's personal approach to fashioning a wine out of the grape, pinot blanc can range in style from the uncomplex, light and fruity pinot biancos of northern Italy to the complex, oaky masterpieces of some California winemakers, which can rival the biggest and best chardonnays. The styles in between these extremes are numerous and well worth exploring. In the last few years, several California winemakers have begun using the same techniques in making pinot blanc as are used to make expensive chardonnay.

California winemakers who employ classic Burgundian techniques in making pinot blanc -- using new and/or almost new French oak barrels for fermentation and aging, lees contact and inducing a malo-lactic secondary fermentation to maximize the wine's complexity -- are creating truly memorable wines that are every bit as enjoyable as French and California chardonnays costing considerably more.

Submitted by:
George Snedrow
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