Ah Pinot Grigio, a zesty white wine that is as refreshing as a cold glass of lemonade on a hot summer's day. The second most popular white wine in America, Pinot Grigio (aka Pinot Gris) is a dry white wine that has a punchy acidity with flavors of lemons, limes, green apples and honeysuckle.

Pinot Grigio has as rich of a history as it does a flavor palate. While thought to originate in Italy, Pinot Grigio is actually a mutant from a popular French grape known as Pinot Gris, derived from the red wine grape, Pinot Noir.

Pinot Gris was first made in Burgundy and made its way to Switzerland in the 1300s. From there it traveled to Italy, where it became Pinot Grigio and gained tremendous popularity. Once it hit the market in the United States, it quickly became the most in-demand imported white wine throughout the country.

From the north of Italy in particular, Pinot Grigio is most commonly described as a lean and crisp dry white with relatively high acidity that adds a spritzy sensation, complemented by aromas of lemon, lime, green apple and blossoms.

Pinot Noir has a unique profile dominated by aroma compounds known as esters. These give it a complex array of flavors, from ripe cherry and raspberry to intriguing undertones of forest floor, tea leaves, and sometimes even clove. On the nose, Pinot Noir is all about the symphony of red fruits.

Italian-style pinot grigio wine tends to be light, dry, and fruity, with common flavors including lemon, lime, pear, nectarine, and apple. You might also detect faint notes of honey, citrus, or honeysuckle.

Pinot Grigio, which also goes by the name Pinot Gris, is capable of producing far more complex wines than it often gets credit for.

Italy Pinot Grigio is the grey member of the pinot family, aptly named due to the dusty greyish skin of the grapes. While it's widely grown in Italy, particularly in the North East regions of Lombardy, the Veneto and Friuli, the grape itself actually originates from France where it's known as Pinot Gris.

Pinot Noir's body generally ranges from light to medium and is favored for its fresh floral, fruity, earthy and spice aromas. Known for an intense rich red color, Pinot Noir is pleasantly dry, with a flavor profile consisting of cherries, raspberries, mushrooms, clove and hibiscus, among others.

The thin-skins and low levels of phenolic compounds lends Pinot to producing mostly lightly colored, medium bodied low tannin wines that can often go through dumb phases with uneven and unpredictable aging. When young, wines made from Pinot noir tend to have red fruit aromas of cherries, raspberries and strawberries.

Pinot noir is pale to medium in colour and is high in acidity with fine, soft tannins. Its red fruit flavours include strawberry, cherry, raspberry, cranberry and plum and the freshness will depend on the ripeness of the grape. Pinot noir can also have an earthy palate.

Italy The best areas for Pinot Grigio are select parts of Friuli and Alto Adige, the finest growing zones for white wine in Italy.

In the European Union, Pinot gris is officially called by other names: Grauer Burgunder (Austria), Pinot grigio (Italy), Ruländer (Germany, Austria, Netherlands), Rulandské sede (Czech republic, Slovakia), Sivi pinot (Slovenia) and Szürkebarat (Hungary).