14 Best Pinot Grigios Under $20

Bright, crisp, dry, and filled with sunshine, few wines are more refreshing than a chilled glass of pinot grigio. The grape variety's origin is French, where it is known as pinot gris. However, the Italians adjusted the name, changing gris to grigio (both meaning grey due to the grape's pinkish-grey skin color), making it their own. 

Today, pinot grigio is the second most popular type of white wine in the United States, ranking just behind chardonnay according to IWSR. The drinks industry analyst's data reported in 2022 that 42% of surveyed Americans said they had enjoyed a glass of the lively white wine within the past month. The category makes up some of the most popular value white wines worldwide, as you can easily find well-priced options from producers around the world crafting their version of the dry yet fruit-forward wine. 

Still, Italy remains the leader in producing quality pinot grigio wines, including many of the best options under $20 on our list. Though the difference between pinot gris and pinot grigio lies mainly in the name and production location, with the French versions often having more body, structure, and ageability than the Italian offerings, we'll keep our list of the best options limited to pinot grigio rather than a mix of both.

Terlato is an American-based importer and producer of fine wines and spirits. We can thank the family-run business for introducing the popular Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio to the American market importing and promoting the wine to the U.S. in 1979. As that wine's price is well north of $20, Terlato offers a luscious Italian offering for under $20, its Terlato Family Vineyards Colli Orientali del Friuli Pinot Grigio.

The wine is from within Italy's autonomous region, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, or Friuli. The area is known for producing quality pinot grigio wines due to its sunny days helping ripen fruit and consistently cool temperatures keeping the wines fresh with refrigerated sunshine, particularly in the mountainous northern part of the region where Colli Orientali lies.

Terlato's fruit grows on hillside vineyards in the family's estate filled with limestone, clay, and sand soils, adding a touch of crunchy minerality to the wine. It is hand-harvested at the precise time when the fruit's aromas and flavors are at their peak and acidity is crisp. The wine opens with aromas of citrus blossom, stone fruit, and marzipan, followed by ripe lemon, juicy pears, and golden apples.

Banfi crafts its San Angelo Pinot Grigio from grapes ripened under the Tuscan sun in the southern part of the Tuscany region in Montalcino. Grapes are harvested at night when temperatures are cool to ensure the warmth of the Italian days during the harvest season does not further ripen the fruit, with fermentation occurring at cool temperatures to maintain its crisp, lively character. After a brief cool storage, the wine is bottled and delivered for sale within months of harvest in an optimal fresh and vibrant state.

The 12.5% alcohol wine has a fresh-cut hay color with aromas of ripe stone fruit, golden citrus, and white flowers. The palate brings layers of ripe peaches, golden apple, lemongrass, and crushed stone with bright acidity melding with well-rounded weight, making it a delicious food wine. We suggest pairing the wine — with an average price of $18 – with rich fish, pasta, or rice dishes, like a decadent bowl of lemony salmon risotto, to highlight the citrus notes in the wine further.

Kurtatsch lies within the southern part of Alto Adige in Northeastern Italy. It is one of the warmer locations within the Italian region on the edge of the Italian Alps and the Dolomite Mountains, providing a prime location for growing luscious wines with an earthy, mineral-rich core. Red grapes are grown in the low elevations of the area, while the whites thrive in the cooler, high-elevation areas.

For Kellerei Kurtatsch Pinot Grigio, the grapes are from hand-selected vineyard plots located on the steep slopes of the region's hillsides, where warm daytime temperatures shift dramatically into cold evenings, ensuring the wine has ripe fruit flavors with bright acidity. Kurtatsch showcases the terroir, creating a textured, slightly creamy 13% alcohol wine thanks to the aging on the fine lees (dead yeast strains), giving it richness with crushed stone, soft herb, and floral notes. These characteristics meld harmoniously with ripe pear, golden melon, and citrus, with a hint of salinity on the finish. For the quality of this wine, its average price of $19 is a bargain.

The pinot grigio grape's skin color ranges from rosy pink to light grey. As the color of the wine comes primarily from the skin, leaving the juice on the skin after crushing the grapes will impart the skin's color into the wine. The historic process with pinot grigio is known as ramato and it has been a part of winemaking in Friuli for generations, with the name coming from the Italian word rame, meaning copper. 

Leaving the juice and must on the skins for an extended maceration before fermentation gives the wine a rosy copper color along with additional texture as the skins also contain tannin. The longer the skin contact occurs the deeper the color of the wine will become. This production style was primarily how wineries were crafting pinot grigio before Santa Margherita popularized the light golden-colored style in the 1960s and '70s. 

Ramato wines are more rustic than the light and juicy options of today, and with that rusticity comes abundant aromas and flavors of white flowers, ripe melon, apples, pears, and citrus. For Friuli's Attems Ramato Pinot Grigio the hand harvested fruit is pressed and left on the skins for 10 hours, followed by a long, cool fermentation. The wine ages on the lees for four months, giving the finished product creaminess. Attems Ramato Pinot Grigio's full-bodied palate wraps orchard and citrus fruit around layers of golden peaches, berries, cherries, and crushed stone. Costing around $19, the 12.5% alcohol wine has more character than some lighter-bodied options, making it great for pairing with classic Italian flavors, like a wood-fired Neapolitan pizza.

From the first sip of Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio, your palate can sense that this is not your ordinary offering. The expressive wine from Vigneti delle Dolomiti within the greater Alto Adige region in Northeastern Italy. The designation is specific to the provinces of Trento and Bolzano in the northern part of the appellation where temperatures remain cool throughout the year. 

The wine shows structure and complexity that is not found in some other offerings. The winery has been producing wine since 1675, with the current owner's ancestors taking over the reins in 1897. Today, the fifth generation of the Tiefenbrunner family is running the winery operations, allowing the characteristics of the high-elevation region to show through each of its selections. 

From chalky moraine and sandy alluvial soils, the 12.5% alcohol selection has a mineral note that carries through from start to finish. This minerality melds with ripe orchard fruit, golden citrus, and white flowers with a well-rounded, full-bodied character that is easy to drink. Given the quality of the wine, it is a bargain for around $17. It can easily pair with heavier white meat dishes, like sous vide pork chops or garlic butter chicken thighs due to the medium body and structure of the wine.

Alto Adige's Alois Lageder takes a holistic approach to its business — diversity is key, creating wines that are unique and distinct, showcasing authenticity while delivering the characteristics of the terroir in every glass. The sixth-generation family-run winery embraces past traditions while working with innovation and ingenuity in its Alto Adige vineyards and winery.

Its Terra Alpina brand brings together the Lageder family with other growers in nearby communities to create wines that reveal authentic Dolomiti character where vineyards are nestled between the Dolomite Mountains and the Adriatic Sea, casting an alpine and maritime influence on the grapes. All of the Terra Alpina pinot grigio grapes are certified organic and grown in calcareous and volcanic soils, lending earthy mineral notes.

The 12.5% alcohol wine, which has an average price of around $16 a bottle, ages on the lees (dead yeast strains) for four months, adding texture and creamy richness to the crisp white wine. These characteristics meld with fruity apple, peaches, and Asian pear flavors with a full, well-rounded palate. Pair the wine with fresh vegetables or seafood dishes, like a seafood stew, classic ceviche, or summery grilled nectarine salad with baby greens.

Pinot grigio is often a wine to open and enjoy within a year or two of its harvest vintage. Its fresh, fragrant, youthful style is one of its appealing attributes. Still, this production style often places the aromatic wine into a simple, less serious wine category, with many producers crafting bulk pinot grigio that sells for under $10 and lacks identity or varietal character. 

Thankfully Italy's Marco Felluga-Russiz Superiore proves this is not always the case as it displays in its age-worthy Marco Felluga Mongris Collio Pinot Grigio. The complex offering is from Collio within the greater Friuli region, with a hilly terrain and mineral-rich soils of marl and sandstone that were once a part of the ocean floor. These soils give the pinot grigio a notable mineral-intense character that blends with floral acacia, juicy lemon-lime, and ripe apple flavors. 

The wine has a full body with mouth coating texture and well-balanced character. While the price is close to the top of the $20 price range, its quality justifies the splurge, particularly as it is one you will want to savor slowly. Though the wine is easily enjoyable on its own, the gastronomic selection will pair well with lighter to more indulgent fare, including creamy pasta or rich shellfish dishes. We suggest enjoying it with a creamy lobster bisque or buttery seared scallops with butternut squash purée.

Producing wines with varietal integrity and consistency at affordable price points has been Bollini's goal since it began in 1979. It offers a zesty and abundant pinot grigio from high-elevation vineyards within Vigneti delle Dolomiti in Northeastern Italy under the gaze of the Dolomite Mountains. The fruit grows on steep slopes at heights up to 1,900 feet above sea level, helping maintain the wine's freshness and energy thanks to the cool temperatures within the region. While temperatures remain cool, the region enjoys long, sunshine-filled days, helping grapes ripen evenly, developing full phenolic character with fruity, herbaceous, floral aromas. 

First impressions of the wine show bright aromas of white flowers, honeysuckle, wild herbs, and orchard fruits. These perfumed aromatics lead to zesty green apple, Meyer lemon, white peach, and soft herbs on the palate. There is a flinty hint of crushed stone lingering throughout from the front palate to the back, elevating the overall character of the selection. With 12.5% alcohol and an average retail price of $16, Bollini successfully fulfills its goal of offering quality and affordability in its pinot grigio offering.

The modern-day story of Pighin Winery began only 20 years ago. However, the growth of quality wine grapes from the winery's Friuli Grave and Collio vineyards began 40 years prior in 1963 when three brothers, Luigi, Ercole, and Fernando Pighin, purchased 500 acres of land in Friuli Grave, followed by another 75 acres in Collio. The area is known for producing premium quality white wines and where grapes have been grown since Roman times. In 2004, Fernando Pighin and his wife, Danila, purchased the estate outright from his brothers and quickly began modernizing its operations and vineyard practices.

The winery leads with innovation while following tradition and has become a leader in producing expressive pinot grigio wines of distinction. Pighin Friuli Pinot Grigio is zesty, green, and fresh with green apple, pineapple, and white flower notes. With bright acidity and a succulent, mouthwatering palate, the $16 wine begs for a pairing of similar fresh flavors, like a bowl of roasted vegetable pasta primavera brimming with fresh asparagus, squash, mushrooms, and tomatoes or a light and fluffy cheese soufflé with a spring greens salad.

Authenticity is essential to the wines crafted by The Simple Grape. The California appellation wines are from certified sustainable vineyards dotted throughout the state. The attention to sustainability ensures wines reveal a varietal character while ensuring vineyard soils are healthy, there is a reduction in water consumption, and wildlife conservation is a focus. The winery practices a hands-off winemaking approach that allows the Golden State's grapes to shine with genuine quality, displaying classic varietal characteristics. The wines do not have added sugars, are vegan, and gluten free. 

The Simple Grape Pinot Grigio has an average price of $16. It shows the fruit-forward flavors of ripe orchard fruit, lemons, oranges, and honeydew. With 13.5% alcohol and bright acidity, the balanced wine has enough weight and freshness to pair with rich foods, like cream-based sauces, a classic roasted chicken, or oily fishes, like our baked honey citrus salmon.

Cantina Tramin's refreshing pinot grigio grapes come from the high-elevation vineyards in the Alto Adige region of Italy, which enjoy a mix of Mediterranean and alpine climates. The fruit undergoes a cool, controlled fermentation in small tanks, including partial malolactic fermentation, converting tart malic acid into soft lactic acid. The process transforms the grape's biting acidity into a wine with a more supple texture and mouthfeel. As only a portion of the grape undergoes this process, the other fruit keeps its natural acidity intact. The result is a well-rounded, balanced 13% alcohol selection that is easy to enjoy for around $15 a bottle. 

Tramin's pinot grigio opens with expressive aromas of acacia, white peach, and lemon zest that lead to stone fruit, crushed stone, and ripe pear flavors. This is the type of wine to enjoy nicely chilled on a hot summer day, as the juiciness of the fruit will quench your thirst. In contrast, the wine's palate has texture and interesting dimension, creating a well-rounded character that keeps you returning for more.

It is easy to enjoy Zenato Pinot Grigio della Venezie as its effortless yet genuine style shines as a highly affordable option with authentic Italian character. The $13 wine from delle Venezie in Northern Italy has a soft straw yellow color and delicate aromas of wisteria, acacia, honeydew, and stone fruit. The residual sugar is higher in the wine than in some of the other offerings, with 5.9 grams per liter, giving the wine a sweetness that makes it an excellent pairing for spicy foods like spicy shrimp scampi, Thai curries, or fiery Mexican dishes.

Though the palate has a sweetness, the flavors remain juicy and crisp thanks to the balanced acidity that lingers throughout the zesty palate and the subtle hint of crushed stone that lifts the overall texture. Notes of lemon-lime, melon, crisp apples, and wildflower honey dance on the palate, finishing with tangy flavors of Key lime pie and peach compote.

Josh Cellars provides a line of everyday wine selections that are approachable, with well-made quality, and a reasonable price. The winery was started in 2007 by Joseph Carr as a tribute to his father, Josh. Its California appellation wines are consistently varietally correct with an easy-drinking style. Though the wine is dry, Josh Cellars Pinot Grigio has a slightly sweeter taste than some other options, showing candied lemon peel, ripe melon, pear, and honeycomb. Still, tangy, fresh acidity counters the sweetness, mellowing the candied fruit notes.

The suggested retail price is $16; however, you can often find it for just north of $10 a bottle, making it the perfect option to sip on its own or mix into cocktails, like our floral white wine sangria. And, for those who want a wine that does good for others, Josh Cellars actively gives back to a variety of causes, including donations to the National Volunteer Fire Council as another way to honor Carr's father, who was a volunteer firefighter, World Central Kitchen, and Trees for Troops.

Element[AL] Wines prove that being eco-conscious and producing a quality product can go hand-in-hand. The wine brand, which launched in 2024, works with a focus on sustainability in every aspect, from the production to the packaging. A part of Bogle Family Vineyards, the California winery uses fruit from vineyards that utilize California Green, Certified Sustainable farming practices.

The wine's packaging is the traditional shape of a wine bottle; however, instead of glass, the bottles are made of 100% infinity-recyclable aluminum, a first of its kind. Element[AL]'s bottles are 80% lighter than traditional glass bottles, requiring less fuel to transport them across the country or worldwide, all while using less energy in the creation. I wouldn't recommend holding a prized Bordeaux or Barolo that should age for years in this packaging. However, for a youthful, fresh wine that you will likely enjoy shortly after release, the innovative bottle is a win-win when you consider the positive environmental impact when compared to other options. With a low alcohol of only 11% and a retail price of less than $20, the juicy wine shows fresh mango, ripe tangerine citrus, and orange blossom honey.