Australian winemakers decide whether to style pinot’s grey grape as a gris or a grigio while consumers grapple with the difference.
Pinot Gris exhibits dominated the Australian wine shows last year. Whereas New Zealand makes pinot gris almost exclusively, the style accounted for two-thirds of the 383 individual labels presented at Australian wine shows in 2025.
However that split was reflected unevenly when it came to wine show scores. Grigio labels were awarded about the same number of trophies and gold medals as gris but the latter style dominated the minor medal count. Gris labels scored twice as many silver medals as grigio and 40 per cent more bronze medals. Overall, the two were hard to separate with grigio labels only slightly outpointing their gris relatives on an average basis.
Australian wine shows assessed 757 pinot gris/grigio exhibits last year. Find our list of Australia’s top 2025 Pinot Gris/Grigio labels here.