German synonym for pinot gris used for the increasingly popular dry wines made from this grape in Germany.(Sweeter wines are sometimes labelled ruländer.) Its success in producing spicy, full-bodied dry wine accounts for the marked increase in total area planted with the variety in Germany: its 5,402 ha/13,343 acres by 2012, an increase of 90% since 2000 make it the country’s fourth most planted white wine grape and far more popular than Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc). Only Italy grows more of this grape variety (see pinot grigio) than Germany. It needs a good site with deep, heavy soils to maximize the impressive level of extract of which it is capable. It is a particularly popular speciality of the warm baden region, although there are more than a thousand hectares in both rheinhessen and pfalz, too.
