Viognier
November, 2013 Filed in: Wine varieties
Not well known, but a wine that we feel is a true star in white wines is Viognier. It is one of the chief grapes in Pacific Quartet our February 2014 offering. In all the years of Limited Edition kits, Pacific Quartet, without question has been the most popular wines, so we thought we should tell you about this awesome grape.
Viognier is of unknown origin, but it is thought to have originated in modern day Croatia and then brought to the Rhone region of France by the Romans. One romantic legend has the grape being transported on a cargo ship on the Rhone River, along with some Syrah grapes and being hijacked by a rogue bunch of outlaws who then started growing the grape.
Some say the name Viognier comes from the French city Vienne, a major Roman outpost. Others say the name comes from the Roman pronunciation of a word meaning Valley of Hell.
In the mid-1960’s Viognier almost became extinct, with only 8 acres being grown as the grape succumbed to powdery mildew, a disease haunting grapes. It is a difficult grape to grow with unpredictable yields and a narrow harvest time.
While it is most identified with the Rhone region of France, it has become popular in California and Australia. In Australia it is commonly blended with Shiraz to give the blend some fragrance. Yes a white with a red, but generally less than 15% of the blend.
Viognier is a very floral fragrant wine because of the high amount of terpenes in the juice. Because of the floral bouquet it gives a perceived sweetness, even though it is a dry wine. Medium-bodied, Viognier is a very versatile and food-friendly wine, but goes particularly with spicy Asian food.
Viognier is available in both the premium Selection series as well as the 4 week World Vineyard wine kits. But for sure the one to grab is the Limited Edition Pacific Quartet.
Viognier is of unknown origin, but it is thought to have originated in modern day Croatia and then brought to the Rhone region of France by the Romans. One romantic legend has the grape being transported on a cargo ship on the Rhone River, along with some Syrah grapes and being hijacked by a rogue bunch of outlaws who then started growing the grape.
Some say the name Viognier comes from the French city Vienne, a major Roman outpost. Others say the name comes from the Roman pronunciation of a word meaning Valley of Hell.
In the mid-1960’s Viognier almost became extinct, with only 8 acres being grown as the grape succumbed to powdery mildew, a disease haunting grapes. It is a difficult grape to grow with unpredictable yields and a narrow harvest time.
While it is most identified with the Rhone region of France, it has become popular in California and Australia. In Australia it is commonly blended with Shiraz to give the blend some fragrance. Yes a white with a red, but generally less than 15% of the blend.
Viognier is a very floral fragrant wine because of the high amount of terpenes in the juice. Because of the floral bouquet it gives a perceived sweetness, even though it is a dry wine. Medium-bodied, Viognier is a very versatile and food-friendly wine, but goes particularly with spicy Asian food.
Viognier is available in both the premium Selection series as well as the 4 week World Vineyard wine kits. But for sure the one to grab is the Limited Edition Pacific Quartet.