Pinot gris may never overtake chardonnay as the most important white wine grape in Washington, but it is poised to give chardonnay a good run for its money.

  At first glance, it looks like Washington is hardly a player with only about 500 acres of pinot gris, which pales when compared, for example, to Oregon's 2,600-acre commitment. Washington is relatively hot, too, which is why it generally does poorly with pinot noir, another heat-averse member of the pinot family. But while 500 acres doesn't seem like much, it represents about a quarter of a million cases annually. Hogue Cellars, one of the state's largest wineries, is responsible for about 50,000 of those. And Co Dinn, director of winemaking at Hogue, says that Washington is just getting started.

  Dinn points out that the grape has to be planted in the right spots. Washington has vast vineyard areas yet to be exploited, and other cool-climate grapes such as riesling do well here. "We just have to find the cooler sites, like Yakima and higher elevations," he explains.

  Hogue began producing pinot gris in 1998, but the wine didn't really take off until 2001, when the winery changed the name from the French, pinot gris, to the Italian, pinot grigio. Since then, "it's been a good run," Dinn says, "and we're going to grow as fast as our sources can provide us with good fruit."

 you'd be hard pressed to find a better summer white than the '07 Hogue pinot grigio. It is bright, brisk, medium-bodied and bursting with aromas and flavors that remind me of melons, mixed tropical fruit and citrus, as well as flowers. Try it by itself or serve it with scallops, steamed clams or mussels, spicy crab cakes or grilled white fish. To find the wine, contact Young's Columbia Distributors at 425-235-2689.

  -- Richard Kinssies
  Richard Kinssies is a freelance wine writer, director of the Seattle Wine School and owner of the Wine Outlet. He can be contacted at 206-652-1311 or richardkinssies@msn.com.