When you order a glass of white in the US, the answer is the question “Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay?” according to Simon Hoggart writing in the Spectator at the end of April. So when a sample of 2012 Hill & Dale Pinot Grigio arrived and I needed a BYO for the Italian Tour at Societi Bistro, the bucolic bevy seemed like a good idea.

It is made from the quintessential Italian white grape, after all, and at under R40 a bottle, good value indeed. I didn’t need to bother as the Societi wine list boasts over half-a-dozen Grigios, which speaks volumes to the popularity of the cultivar in SA.

The H&D is tangy pear juice for grown-ups and the abstemious 12% alcohol makes it a candidate aperitif for Wednesday evening’s black-tie bash to hand out the Brandhouse Responsible Drinking Media Awards.

The wine is made by Guy Webber, the gentle giant more famous for Stellenzicht reds, and not Alex Dale, as you might deduce from the brand name. Alex, who makes the wine at the Winery of Good Hope, must be the most unlucky winemaker in the business as far as powerful producers appropriating brand names confusingly like his own, goes.