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The Vino Columbia Valley Pinot Grigio 2020 is a wine that should be found for around $10, I saw prices as high as $13 and I found it for $8.99. It is a brand from Charles Smith/House of Smith Wines. The full name of this wine is Vino CasaSmith and these wines are Italian varietals by way of Columbia Valley Washington.
While Columbia Valley is in the title this is a single vineyard wine. The grapes are sourced from the sustainably farmed at Milbrandt’s Evergreen Vineyard in the Ancient Lakes AVA in the northern Columbian Valley. The best Pinot Grigio grapes in Italy are from the Alto Adige region of far northern Italy situated in the foothills of the Dolomites (Italian Alps). While the Ancient Lakes do not have the foothills of the Alps, the vineyard is high bluffs overlooking a river.
The Vino Columbia Valley Pinot Grigio 2020 is a simply produced wine. The grapes were pressed with whole clusters, meaning that the stems and twigs were. left with the grapes. This adds additional flavor and texture to the wine. This Pinot Grigio was aged for 10 months (on-lees) in stainless steel tanks. On-lees is where the spent yeast is left in the tank during aging. It is stirred at specific intervals giving the wine a creamy texture and a nutty/salty flavor, depending on how often the lees are stirred.
The Vino Columbia Valley Pinot Grigio 2020 is a very affordable single-vineyard wine from an excellent vineyard in an interesting AVA. The alcohol content is a mild 12.5%.
The Vino Columbia Valley Pinot Grigio 2020 Tasting Notes
The color is pale gold. The nose is lemon, apple, melon, pear, soft spice, lightly floral, and a hint of cream. The Vino Columbia Valley Pinot Grigio 2020 is soft and smooth upfront with flavors that slowly reveal themselves.
This Pinot Grigio tastes like tart apple, lime, rounded lemon, a stew of peach and pear, and muted grapefruit. The mid-palate shows a little of that nutty/salty on-lees sensation, stone fruit, and blood orange.
The acidity sneaks up on you, at first it is subtle and as the flavors slow on it becomes a part of the flavor sensation.
The Summary
- The Vino Columbia Valley Pinot Grigio 2020 is an excellent White wine.
- Some Italian Pinot Grigio wines have a little too much acidity for my tastes, but the Vino Columbia Valley Pinot Grigio 2020 gets the acidity right.
- This is a wine well worth seeking out.
