Strike up the bland.

(From Off Licence News)

It is the wine we love to hate . It is the grape most often derided in wine circles and it is gaining ground Aeverywhere from Central Otago to the Languedoc, from Hawkes Bay to Sicily: Pinot Gris. Held captive to analogous insults at every turn, it still somehow goes from strength to misunderstood strength. Hurl any insult you care to at Pinot Gris - bland, "white on white", "put lipstick on a cow and it's still a cow" - but its growth continues unabated.

Despite its inexpressive personality, usual blandness and its rollercoaster ride of different stylistic expressions, Pinot Gris throws off negative analyses the way most of us dispense with our woollen coats in summer. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are growing fast in New Zealand, but from its tiny base Pinot Gris' growth rate is the fastest. And while that growth is strong in our vineyards, it is most pervasive as "the next big thing" in that all-important place - our minds.

The most confounding aspect of Pinot Gris' growth is that no particular style has emerged to which its makers can aspire.

Marlborough winemaker Mike Just, from Clayridge Vineyards, says he sees two distinctly different styles of New Zealand Pinot Gris being made for the UK wine market.

"One of them is the relatively cheap Italian style of Pinot Grigio, which tends to be light, simple, inoffensive easy drinking and is available in your average pub by the glass. The other is the generally richer, more opulent style of New World or Alsatian Pinot Gris that tends to be more expensive," he explains.

As to who these wines are aimed at, Just sees the Pinot Grigio style as a "beginner's wine".