Viognier

(Vee own yay)

Viognier grows best in a long warm growing season, and tends to be a low yielding variety. It is prone to powdery mildew and is finicky about when to be harvested. Too early and it lacks aromas, picked late and it gets oily.

This grape can produce full-bodied white wines. While it can be made into a single variety wine, as in Condrieu, it is also one of the rare white grapes that is often used in red blends, adding softness and perfume.

This is a wine that should be enjoyed young. As it ages it becomes crisp, but can lose it’s aromas.

Warmer Climate Viogniers seem to age a little better. It is often made into a dessert wine by picking “late harvest” when the sugars have concentrated in the grapes.

When you put your nose in a glass of Viognier you are likely to smell peach and honeysuckle and perhaps tangerine. When it is barrel aged, notes of vanilla pop. It is fruit forward wine with lower acidity. In your mouth it is lush with a fullness and viscosity.

Like Chardonnay you will hear a lot about Oak or Non-oak or neutral oak aging. Adding oak to this grape of course adds the vanilla and clove aromas that you would expect and rounds the mouth feeling creamy, where as non-oaked will pump up the tropical fruit and florals and be brighter.

There is another difference also, climate…much of the Viognier in California is grown in warmer climates, but some winemakers are diving into the beauty and elegance that a cooler climate Viognier can bring.