ASK ANY SERIOUS wine drinker to describe Pinot Grigio, and a stream of less-than-flattering adjectives is likely to follow: Watery. Insipid. Neutral. Boring. Few wines underwhelm as thoroughly as Pinot Grigio. Yet it's a consistent best seller—retailers tell me that they can't keep the stuff in stock. How to reconcile these seemingly opposing facts?

Produced in the northeastern region of Italy, from Veneto to Friuli to Alto Adige, Pinot Grigio tends to be crisp and fairly light-bodied. Pinot Grigio is also found in a few other regions, notably Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy. It's the same grape as the French Pinot Gris. (In fact, the grape originated in France.) For reasons to do with terroir and winemaking techniques, the wines that the two Pinots produce are quite different in terms of style and weight. Pinot Gris wines, especially those produced in France's Alsace region, are bigger, weightier and higher in alcohol than their Italian counterparts.

While Pinot Grigio can be quite light and neutral, even dilute when produced in large quantities, from time to time it shows a bit of character. Alois Lageder, who turns out Lageder Porer Pinot Grigio, a distinctive single-vineyard Alto Adige Pinot Grigio, wrote in an email that he thinks the downfall of Pinot Grigio occurred when it was planted in too many areas unsuitable to the grape—not only in Italy, but around the world. Pinot Grigio requires the right sort of soil and set of circumstances to thrive, Mr. Lageder posited. He said the gravelly, sandy and stony soils of his vineyards give his Pinot Grigios an ideal mineral quality. The region's cool nights, he said, contribute to a bright and cleansing acidity.

Indeed, the wines from Alto Adige and Friuli have long been considered a step up in quality, concentration and character from Pinot Grigios produced in other places. Some drinkers prefer the wines of Friuli for their richness and complexity, and others favor Alto Adige Pinot Grigios for their aromatic and mineral qualities.

Of course, that's not the way that most people think of Pinot Grigio—if they give it much thought at all. They are more likely to consider Pinot Grigio the way my friend Tom does. He calls it a "cheap summer white"—something to enjoy unthinkingly with friends. He's particularly keen on Kris Pinot Grigio, and not because of the taste. "I can get it for around $8 a bottle," he said.