The Pinot Gris, now lovingly cultivated on its own, began as one such "sport" (to use the breezy scientific term) of Pinot Noir.

FORBES: Pinot Gris makes the Pinot family proud.

"Anyone who plays games with it is trying to make it into something it's not, " states David Lett of Oregon's Eyrie Vineyards, the pioneer Pinot Gris producer in the United States.

FORBES: Wine & Spirts

Up in chilly Oregon, where they use the name "Pinot Gris, " the grape has become the state's signature white wine.

FORBES: Wine & Spirts