Grape variety
Pinot Blanc
Pinot Blanc, or Weissburgunder: a colour mutation in the Pinot family. Its origin, where it grows in Germany, South Tyrol and Alsace, style and pairings.
- Colour
- White
- Origin
- Colour mutation in the Pinot family; Pinot Noir is most often named as the starting point; long confused with Chardonnay
- Main regions
- Germany (a little over 6,000 hectares), Austria (about 2,000), Italy (mainly Veneto, Friuli, South Tyrol), Alsace; Switzerland about 110 hectares
- Synonyms
- Weissburgunder, Weisser Burgunder (Germany, Austria), Pinot Bianco (Italy), Klevner (old Alsatian word)
- Typical aromas
- Apple, pear, lemon, hay flowers, hazelnut, almond
- Classic pairing
- Asparagus, quiche, fish, veal, risotto
Pinot Blanc, called Weissburgunder in Germany and Austria and Pinot Bianco in Italy, is the quiet white of the Burgundy family. Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are genetically almost identical and differ mainly in berry colour: the white is a colour mutation that appeared on Pinot vines and was kept going by propagation. Chardonnay was long regarded as a variant of Pinot Blanc, and the two were planted together and confused. In many places the two were cleanly separated only after 1970; in South Tyrol “green” and “yellow” Weissburgunder still stood in the same vineyards until 1985.
Germany has the largest area, a little over 6,000 hectares, above all in Baden, Rheinhessen and the Pfalz, where Weissburgunder is mostly made dry. In Italy the largest areas lie in the Veneto, then Friuli and South Tyrol; Austria has about 2,000 hectares. In Alsace a wine labelled “Pinot Blanc” may be wholly or partly Auxerrois, and the variety is above all the backbone of Crémant d’Alsace. In Switzerland it covers about 110 hectares.
In South Tyrol, on about 600 hectares, it is especially prized; it grows up to 800 metres, around Eppan, Kaltern, Terlan, Tramin and the Ritten, and keeps its fine acidity there. The wine is rarely loud: apple, pear, lemon, sometimes pineapple, with hay flowers, hazelnut and almond, lively acidity and medium body. From stainless steel it is fresh and slim, from oak round and creamy; in Alsace and Italy it is often fuller, while in Germany and Austria it comes dry, off-dry and also sweet. Some of it goes into sparkling wine.
Precisely because it is so restrained, it suits delicate dishes that a loud wine would flatten: asparagus, quiche, steamed or pan-fried fish, veal, risotto and mild cheeses. It is a dependable aperitif and everyday wine, mostly drunk young and well chilled; when raised in good oak it can also age for a few years. To understand the family, put it beside a Pinot Gris and a Chardonnay: three whites that are related but not the same, and Pinot Blanc is the slimmest and quietest of the three.