Pinot Grigio Sucks? That's Vayrrogant
Craig Camp
in Wine Blogging
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31 Comments
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1 Reference
While watching a video feed from a Twitter buddy and fellow blogger, I was once again exposed to the snap judgements of Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV. The jarring and uniformed nature of his words shocked me as he ranted to the group in front of him, “pinot grigio sucks”. Can such flippant comments reflect someone who really cares about wines and the people that make them? I can assure you that winemakers like Jermann, Felluga, Borgo San Daniele and so many others, including many producers in Alsace and Oregon, don’t think gris/grigio sucks and, in fact, make lovely wines from this variety.
There are several reasons I take issue with Gary’s attitude. First is probably my age, as a 50+ year old person I could be missing something in his style that is appreciated by younger wine drinkers. On this level I’ll give the benefit of the doubt back to Gary. On the second point I’m not so prepared to give ground. This kind of off-the-cuff statement only insults and degrades the work of winemakers, people he professes to admire and reveals a lack of knowledge and experience.
It is interesting that Vaynerchuk made his “pinot grigio sucks” statement in a disingenuous attempt to pump up his take on greco di tufo, a variety that like pinot grigio, produces mostly forgettable wines. The difference of course is that while pinot grigio has a huge market that draws oceans of industrial grigio to the United States, greco di tufo is unknown to Americans so only the better wines reach our shores. Something tells me that Vaynerchuk has spent little, if any, time in Northeastern Italy, where many producers are crafting wonderful wines from pinot grigio. The same goes for Campania, where a lot of ordinary greco di tufo goes down the throats of uncritical tourists. Perhaps if he had actually visited the vineyards and cellars he would have an deeper understanding of these varieties and the people that make wine from them.
If you are going to make a living on the work of others you should at least respect what they do.
Craig Camp
Here’s some thoughtful commentary from Josh Hermsmeyer at Pinotblogger on this very topic:
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Source: The 60 Second Taster
Reader Comments (31)
Definitely. What you see as an insulting remark to producers of great pinot grigio is nothing more than the kind of dialogue that, I think, Gary stands for. I think he makes it very clear that he is not trying to be a "new Robert Parker" or a definitive voice for a generation.
I'm not trying to be a lapdog here, but I don't think this is a fair accusation, almost daily he states that his preferences are personal and not to be applied across the board.
Are you calling him out here on a personal opinion about Pinot Grigio or something else? I just don't see the connection between Greco di tufo and him saying Pinot Grigio sucks. It just seems silly to me to say his statement was disrespectful. If I am indeed missing something, please, fill me in.
You are missing something and I expect you miss it because you don't make wine. To heap all producers into the same garbage bin is disrespectful to winemakers that devote their lives to making the best wines they can from this variety. It is on the backs of these people that Brand Gary is built.
PS I have been to Northern Italy 3 times in the last 60 months :)
Can someone post the link to the episode which shows Gary making the comment, so at least everyone can see the statement in context and make up their own minds?
I think most people realize he isn't saying ALL pinot grigio sucks. It is clear you didn't, but you're not his target market.
Why in the world would you think that?
"pinot grigio, produces mostly forgettable wines"
All varieties produce mostly forgettable wines. That's the point. Why pick on grigio/gris.
He is picking on overproduced industrial Pinot Grigio. You don't have to like what Gary V says or how he says it. If you listen to Gary you'd know he doesn't have it in for any one grape. It is fine for Camp to take issue with Gary's message, I am just contending that it was misinterpreted and that thinking, 'pinot grigio and pinot gris is the same grape, therefore he must also hate gris from Alsace or Oregon' is asinine.
I do like like your work, and yes you certainly outclass me, and you're exponentially more eloquent. I probably would have said nothing, if you hadn't lumped Alsace and Oregon into your treatise. I still don't get where that comes from. I find OR and Alsatian pinot gris to be NOTHING like run of the mill 1.5 liter shelf stacking Folonari.
Side note: I was at Wine Library a couple of weeks ago (I live 900 miles away) and bought their 'best' Greco di Tufo and it was barely ok. I found a very nice one at a restaurant in Manhattan (I was on a GdT tour ;-) I liked it better than any grigio I've had. Very expressive, with white peaches and great acidity balance.
PS Asinine was too strong, baseless is better.
Obviously I disagree with that, but that's something we all can live with as long as we're drinking good wine. What were your bad and good Greco experiences?
Thanks for your comments.
Your blanket condemnation of pinot grigio had an impact on not only the people in that room and everyone they know, but everyone who saw the streaming video. Surely you understand that many thousands of your viewers take what you say as gospel. When I heard your comment I could only cringe as I thought of the dozens of winemakers that I know personally that apply the same passion to pinot grigio that they do to their other varieties.
You're also going to have to get off this "I'm not a wine critic" thing. You're obviously a critic as long as you critique wines. It is silly to claim you are not a critic. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I'd happily chat with you anytime and I bet you're a fun and stimulating dinner companion. Just remember the price of your success is that you no longer have the luxury of off-handed comments as they have an impact on the life's work of others.
Well my best one was at a Sicilian restaurant in Manhattan. It was a 2006 by Terredora Di Paolo in Avellino, an hour west of Napoli. The nose was quite tight, but on the palate it presented a fine balance of the minerality you'd see in a quality chablis (like a $20 Chateau de Maligny Village) with smooth white peaches, not Cali UFOs, but creamy Hood River white peaches in September. Not a very long finish, but you rush to take another sip anyway. Towards the end of the bottle, the nose became more apparent with apples and creamy lemon. It was $45 at the restaurant, but online can be had for $16ish in NY/NJ. I ordered a case, I hope it will be as good. I'd like to think that I am not subject to the psychosomatic cliche: good restautant + good time + average wine = perceived great wine ;-)