Wine Of The Week: Gran Moraine Flavorscape Pinot Blanc

This bright and juicy orange wine from Oregon’s Gran Moraine is basically the wine equivalent of a Cosmo.

The seasons are shifting, and it’s the first weekend I’ve been able to lean into the luxury of having a pretty sweet rooftop patio. As such, I’m planning to pop bottles that encapsulate the season: sunny, bright, and breezy wines for sunny, breezy days.

Gran Moraine’s experimental Pinot Blanc is just that. While the Yamhill-Carlton winery’s regular offerings are full of incredibly elegant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, their Flavorscape line is where they get a little weird, experimenting with sparkling wines and skin-contact oranges.

This year’s experiment – a lightly orange pinot blanc – is just what you want to crack open on a sunny day: shimmery, salty, juicy, and slightly electric. It’s bouncy and bright, with slight tannins, a salty finish, and thirst-quenching notes of grapefruit and lime. Consider it the wine equivalent to a Cosmopolitan. $35

Kate Dingwall is a WSET-trained sommelier and seasoned spirits writer. Her work has appeared in Wine Enthusiast, Eater, Forbes.com, and others, and she pours wine at one of Canada’s top restaurants.