Men find a delicate balance

In recent weeks, I have seen two of my male friends order a glass of pinot grigio following a golf game.

I mean these guys were ordering this light and delicate wine whose perfumelike characteristics have often stereotyped it as a "woman's wine."

So what's happening here?

No big bold chardonnay? No heavy oak?

As we complete the last hot days of summer, maybe they have found something.

Pinot grigio might be delicate, but it can be full of flavor, especially if you don't gulp it like a beer on a sweltering afternoon.

It doesn't have the heavy oaking like many California chardonnays, and that can be more pleasant in the summer.

Pinot grigio goes well with light summer foods, such as lightly flavored fish or simply prepared white pasta sauce.

Pinot grigio in Italian means the gray pinot grape. In other countries, it is called pinot gris.

I asked the wine-tasting group to compare five pinot grigios costing under $10 and then five costing more than $10, to see how we should spend our money on this wine. Here is what we found:

Under $10:

-- 2003 Placido Pinot Grigio at $9.99. This wine had a lighter color than the rest. Its aroma was chalky and reminded us of mandarin oranges and pineapples. In the mouth, it had a sweet-tart sensation. The finish was not that crisp.

-- 2002 Cortenova Pinot Grigio at $9.99. This was the darkest of the first five, rich in color and full of peaches in the aroma. On the palate, it was round and full-bodied, slightly heavy in the mouth. It could have used more acids and was not that crisp on the finish. Still, it tied for second in our under $10 tasting.

-- 2003 Mezza Corona Pinot Grigio at $9.99. This wine had a delightful aroma of green apples and minerals. In the mouth, it was ultra soft, said one taster. It was perfectly crisp on the finish, promising to be a good food wine. The Mezza Corona finished first in this tasting.

-- 2002 Stella Pinot Grigio at $9.99. This wine had a darker color than most, with an floral aroma that also offered peaches and honey. We tasted lemon on the palate, and lemon rind of the finish. This was a very dry wine.

-- 2003 Cavit Pinot Grigio at $8.99. This wine had a waxy, melonlike aroma, with hints of green tomatoes. The fruit was juicy in the mouth with good acids, but was slightly out of balance. This wine tied for second.

Over $10

-- 2002 H. Lun Pinot Grigio at $15.99. This aroma reminded us of over-ripe bananas and oranges. It had lots more body than the under $10 wines. It had good balance and an elegance to it. The texture was slightly creamy, with tastes of honeysuckle and floral notes on the palate. The finish was clean.

-- 2003 Zenato Pinot Grigio at $11.99. The first impression of the aroma was lemon cake, followed by white pepper and mild herbs. Drinking it, we discovered a mouthful of acids, not the creaminess of the H. Lun. This would make the Zenato a much better food wine. The Zenato finished second in the over $10 category.

-- 2003 Tommasi Le Rosse Pinot Grigio at $13.99. The nose was reminiscent of the freshness of a spring rain. Then we discovered scents of banana chips, orange and perfume. In the mouth, this wine had less acidity than most of the others but more bananas. It left a banana aftertaste.

-- 2002 Kettmeir Pinot Grigio at $18.99. Our first bottle was bad, so some of us tasted a second bottle. The aroma was mouth-watering and offered tangerine, Golden Delicious apples, lemon and minerals. In the mouth, it was dry but lush. The finish was crisp. It was too bad the Kettmeir could not have contended in the original tasting, for it was a good wine.

-- 2003 Maso Canali Pinot Grigio at $19.99. What a delightful bottle of wine to end a summer day. The aroma was like fresh dew on green grass, with hints of green apples. On the palate, we were pleasantly surprised that the taste had a peanut and creamy character, as if from a jar of peanut butter. This, combined with the grassy character and herbs, reminded some tasters of a sauvignon blanc. These were unusual descriptions for a pinot grigio, but it was a complicated wine that pleased my group enough that it was voted number one.

Clearly, the Maso Canali was the group's favorite of the 10 we tasted because of its complexity and character. But if $10 is your price threshold, try the Mezza Corona.

Questions can be sent to Frank Sutherland, editor, The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203 or e-mailed to editor