One grape, two mutations, and a decision in the cellar
Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir Blanc get mixed up constantly — and it’s easy to see why. Underneath, all three are the same grape: Pinot Noir. At the DNA level they’re nearly identical. What sets them apart is a single mutation in two cases, and a single choice in the cellar in the third.
Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are Pinot Noir with one thing changed — the gene that controls color. Pinot Noir Blanc isn’t a mutation at all; it’s the original black grape, made into a white wine by hand. Here’s how to tell them apart.
Pinot Gris — the color mutation
Pinot Gris (“gray Pinot”) is Pinot Noir with the volume turned down on color. A natural mutation leaves the berries a mauve-gray at harvest instead of black. Genetically, it’s still Pinot Noir — the mutation only touches the skin.
In the glass: ripe apple and pear with a touch of honey, and — when it’s made dry, the way we like it — flint, spearmint, and a steely line of acidity.
At Kramer: We harvest our estate Pinot Gris to hold its acidity and freshness, then ferment it fully dry — so the wine leads with minerality and structure rather than sweetness.
Pinot Blanc — the mutation of a mutation
Keep going and the color disappears entirely. Pinot Blanc is the same story one step further — a mutation (most often of Pinot Gris) that switches the pigment off completely, leaving green-white berries. Genetically, still Pinot Noir. It’s prized for elegance: zesty lemon, pear, crisp apple, a whisper of almond, and a stony, mineral edge.
At Kramer: We bottled a still Pinot Blanc through 2017 — but these days we’d rather see it in bubbles. It’s now a key part of our Brut Blanc de Blancs, blended with Chardonnay, where its acidity and orchard-fruit clarity give the wine its backbone.
Pinot Noir Blanc — the cellar decision
This one is the trickster: a white wine made from black grapes — and no mutation involved at all. It’s ordinary Pinot Noir; the difference is entirely in the cellar. The juice inside almost any wine grape runs clear — the color lives in the skins. To make Pinot Noir Blanc, we hand-pick red Pinot Noir and press it whole-cluster right away, drawing the clear juice off the skins before it can take on red.
At Kramer: Our white-from-red Pinot Noir Blanc comes from Block 7 — Wädenswil vines planted in 1988 on an east-facing slope, picked for white since the block came into bearing. Whole-cluster pressed off the skins and made dry, it carries more texture and weight than its pale color suggests, with orchard and stone fruit over a clean, bright line. The style shifts a little vintage to vintage — the current release notes tell you where this year landed.
This is the whole story in one bunch. Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc happen in the vineyard — a mutation switching the color off, sometimes berry by berry on the same cluster. Pinot Noir Blanc happens in the cellar. All three start with the same grape, which is exactly what makes Pinot such an endlessly fascinating variety to farm and to drink.
Taste the difference for yourself
The same grape, four different answers: our Estate Pinot Gris, the Brut Blanc de Blancs, Block 7 Pinot Noir Blanc, and Estate Pinot Noir. Come taste them with us in the tasting room, or bring the set home and line them up on your own table — side by side is still the best way to understand the difference.
One grape, four expressions.
Meet the whole family. Taste these Pinots in our tasting room, or bring the set home.
