This is a delightful, dry white that is immensely drinkable. The fresh fruit character of green apple, pear and nuances of apricot broadens on the palate.

The minerality and acidity make this a great wine for shellfish of any kind and delightful with roast chicken, turkey or pastas with a light béchamel sauce. Also great with Thai cuisine.

Harvested with low sugar and high acidity, the crisp Pinot Gris portion of the blend supplies the energy, while the Pinot Blanc delivers minerality and depth. The majority of Pinot Gris is harvested from Sierra Madre Vineyard. The Pinot Blanc portion is from Bien Nacido Vineyard. Both had small grapes on small clusters meaning more skin in the skin to fruit ratio. More skin, more flavor. All the Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc is harvested by hand, whole-cluster pressed and barrel-fermented in neutral French oak. Malolactic fermentation is allowed to complete. This softens the piercing acid of the Pinot Gris and gives the wine some richness. The wine is sulfured and rests sur lie until late Spring. After racking and processing, the wine is returned to barrel spending a total 8 months in the barrel before bottling.

Au Bon Climat is a Burgundy centric winery, meaning if the grapes aren’t grown in Burgundy, then Au Bon Climat doesn’t make that type of wine. Wineries in Burgundy are limited to Aligoté, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay for white wines. Starting in 1990 Au Bon Climat made single varietal Pinot Blanc, and with the 1995 vintage, a single varietal Pinot Gris. The wines were very promising which lead to their first Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc blend in 1997. The wine was a such great success, it has been a staple in the Au Bon Climat portfolio ever since. The percentages of each variety changes from year to year.