Drink Colorado wine

Jack Rabbit Hill’s current release of its pinot gris is merely organic. We’ll forgive winemaker Lance Hanson.

While organic itself is rare in Colorado, Hanson has set the bar high in his growing standards by upping the ante to full on biodynamic farming (think organic, but on steroids in a strictly metaphorical sense). Jack Rabbit is one of just two dozen-ish wineries in the world practicing this level of farming.

But the grapes for this pinot gris were sourced from a farm about six miles down the road from Jack Rabbit Hill that he has helped turn organic. Organic feels rather pedestrian after talking to Hanson about his farming practices though.

So on a warm summer patio afternoon we were left to enjoy this wine that is still more environmentally-friendly than most. And it tasted pretty damn good, too.

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It smells of earthy and dirty flavors, almost as if there’s a trace of terrior in this wine. Apricot is the star of the nose, and the taste is of strictly summer flavors. There are some dried fruit, floral and lemon flavors mixed with a hint of oak and toast, even though this wine never saw a barrel.

There are some sweets in here that give the wine added body, almost like a very light syrup. That is not to say these flavors are over-pronounced; this pinot gris is still a light/medium-bodied wine with medium dryness, just as it is supposed to.

It’s simply just a rather pleasant pinot gris, which is a relatively rare grape in these parts.

Who should drink this wine: Anyone with a mild fish on the grill or needing a refreshing glass of vino to beat the heat.

For more:
2009 Jack Rabbit Hill organic pinot gris
13% alcohol by volume
Grapes from Hotchkiss
Price: $16 | Hard to find wine, available mostly at restaurants
7.5 points on ColoradoWino.com’s completely arbitrary 11-point wine review rating system

See our review of this wine on WineGuysTV.com:

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