Frankengrape

Well, chardonnay is fermenting away in its tanks and barrels, and Pinot Gris is next on deck. Pinot Gris, which we all know as a white wine, is actually this color: not quite noir, not quite blanc. In fact, Pinot Gris is a naturally occurring mutation of Pinot Blanc, which is in the same family as Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Some vines will actually produce both white and rusty-colored clusters, so the incoming grapes look like this:


Luis snagged this cool cluster from a passing bin. None of us had ever seen the mutation express itself in a single cluster before. The colors actually spiral around each other. The most remarkable thing was the single grape that was both white and black. Cool!