Zonte’s Footstep Doctoress di Lago – Not Your Mother’s Pinot Grigio

100% Pinot Grigio from Fleurieu Peninsula, Australia. SRP of $15 and available at that price.

Sample received courtesy Old Bridge Cellars for review purposes.

From the bottle:

“Zonte’s Footstep has been on a quest to find and grow the world’s best white varieties for more than a decade. Our Pinot Grigio is named Doctoressa di Lago, or Lake Doctor, as the vineyard is on the shores of Lake Alexandrina where, each summer afternoon, the house cooling breeze of our ‘Doctoressa di Lago’ arrives and revives vines and vignerons alike.

Zonte’s Footstep is named after a 19th century Zante currant vineyard as new pairings follow the original footstep. The currant business dried up, but Zonte’s Footstep became our blueprint…

In 2003 a group of mates pooled old white utes and new-ish tractors to grow the best grapes from the best vineyards. All we want to do is taste our fruit in our wine, so we charged our reigning winemaker, Mr. Ben Riggs, with one goal; to make wine true to vineyard so long as it is bloody good drink!

The Doctoressa di Lago Pinot Grigio vineyard is on a 40 million year old alluvialplain, nestled between two rivers adjacent to Lake Alexandrina, upstream from the River Murray’s sea mouth. It is an oasis in a cool desert with vines planted on their own roots, in maritime red sands that sit over pre-Cambrian Limestone and is ideal for growing grapes.

The truth is out there in the vineyard, but the proof is in this bottle.

12.5% Alcohol”

The Doctoress di Lago is not your average Pinot Grigio. I enjoy a good Pinot Grigio now and then but a lot of times they leave me wanting more. Not so with this wine. Much like the excellent Zonte’s Footstep Scarlet Ladybird Rosé the Doctoress di Lago offers much more than expected.

The 2010 Zonte’s Footstep Doctoress di Lago Pinot Grigio exhibits aromas of citrus, pear, floral, and green apple. The wine tastes of pear, melon, and a bit of spice. This is a crisp wine with nice acidity and a good juicy flavor. The spice really comes through strong on the long finish, which also features some minerality. The Doctoress di Lago has a really nice mix of fruit flavor and spice that elevates it above the norm. Definitely not your Mother’s Pinot Grigio.

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.

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