dickr2 > writes:

> I've had inexpensive Pinot Grigio in the past, and never
> thought too much about them until ...
> A recent dinner where we made Orange Roughy Amandine
> accompanied with white/wild rice, salad and biscuits.
> The wine: Avantgarde Pinot Grigio 2005 Rheinhessen from
> Germany. Alc. 12.5%
> I don't have any eloquent tasting notes, but the wine was
> superb with the fish, and I'll have to try more Pinot
> Grigio in the future. The wine was gifted to me and I don't
> think it was very expensive.

Pinot Gris (or whatever other name one calls it) is interesting. I
feel like the bulk of these wines that I taste are truly insipid in
the sense of being almost flavorless.

But, I've had examples (some from Alsace, mostly from Oregon, but that
is probably because of proximity in my case) that are truly delightful
wines at very modest prices ($11-$15).

From the internet, I suspect the wine you had was in this price range,
though it doesn't seem that widely distributed.

An Oregon pinot gris that I like a lot and that seems to be widely
distributed (in some Costcos for example) is this one:

http://www.willamettevalleyvineyards...oducts/core/#3

It is under $12 in Costco.

Another Oregon winery that is big (for Oregon), and thus has some
national distribution in the US, and has a good pinot gris is King
Estate, but I think the Willamette Valley Vineyards one mentioned
above is a better value.

And there are lots of smaller Oregon vineyards with good pinot gris
(and lots of insipid pinot gris from Oregon, but a much better
proportion of good wine than the pinot grigios I see from Italy).