Sauvignon blanc vs pinot grigio

Both are dry, both are cold, both get poured on the same porch. The difference is loudness.

Sauvignon blanc

An aromatic grape, which means it smells strongly before you taste it. Grapefruit, lime, passionfruit, fresh-cut grass, bell pepper, sometimes a flinty note. High acidity, dry finish, and a green herbal streak that is unmistakable once you know it.

It is assertive wine. That is a feature when the food is assertive too, and a problem when it is not.

Pinot grigio

The same grape as pinot gris, treated differently depending on where it grows. In the Italian style, it is picked early and fermented in steel to give a light, crisp, quiet wine: green apple, pear, lemon peel, almond on the finish. Low aromatics, refreshing, easy.

Pinot gris from Alsace or Oregon is a different animal: riper, fuller, sometimes with a touch of sweetness, with pear, honey and spice.

Regional styles worth knowing

Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand's Marlborough is the loudest version, with tropical fruit and cut grass turned all the way up.

Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire Valley are drier, more mineral and less tropical, with a smoky, stony quality.

California sauvignon blanc sits in between, rounder and sometimes lightly oaked, where it may be labelled fumé blanc.

Italian pinot grigio from the Alto Adige and Friuli is the most precise version. Wines from the Veneto plains tend to be softer and simpler.

Which one for which food

Sauvignon blanc: goat cheese, oysters, ceviche, green salads with vinaigrette, asparagus, herbs, anything with lime or coriander. It is one of the few wines that handles vegetal food without tasting metallic.

Pinot grigio: fried calamari, light pasta, prosciutto and melon, chicken salad, sushi, a hot afternoon with nothing in particular. It does not compete with food, which is sometimes exactly the point.

Which one for which person

Buy sauvignon blanc for someone who likes bold, citrusy drinks and finds most white wine boring.

Buy pinot grigio for a mixed group, a long afternoon, or anyone who wants something cold and undemanding.

Sweetness

Both are normally dry. Some inexpensive pinot grigio is made with a little residual sugar to round it out, and some New Zealand sauvignon blanc tastes sweet because the fruit is so ripe even when the wine is technically dry. If sweetness bothers you, look for wines from cooler regions and lower alcohol.

Serving

Serve both at 45 to 50 degrees. Pinot grigio can go colder without losing much. Sauvignon blanc shuts down if it is freezing, so give it ten minutes out of the fridge to show its aromatics. Both are best in the year or two after the vintage; these are not wines to keep.

If you like one, try next

Like sauvignon blanc: try albariño, vermentino or grüner veltliner. Like pinot grigio: try soave, verdicchio or an unoaked chardonnay.

Selection changes week to week, so call to confirm a specific bottle.