Viognier white wine?

Question

What is the deal on Viognier white wine? Is it any good? What food does it go with?

I have only recently seen this showing up at various stores and wine shops and I am wondering what the deal is?

Answer 1

It's a grape variety. Normally quite dry and crisp. Although I have had a late harvest variety that was a sweet desert wine. Gernerally dry though.

A firm fish would go well, I had a Monkfish curry with my last bottle. Very nice.

Answer 2

Viognier is one of my favorite whites. It has a bit of spice, is a bit fruity, and is dry. It goes with fish, seafood, chicken, etc., depending on how these foods are cooked.

Here is a little bit about what Wikipedia says about it. To read more, go to Wikipedia.org.


Wine
Viognier wines are well-known for their floral aromas, due to terpenes, which are also found in Muscat and Riesling wines. There are also many other powerful flower and fruit aromas which can be perceived in these wines depending on where they were grown, the weather conditions and how old the vines were. Although some of these wines, especially those from old vines and the late-harvest wines, are suitable for aging, most are intended to be consumed young. Viogniers more than three years old tend to lose many of the floral aromas that make this wine unique. Aging these wines will often yield a very crisp drinking wine which is almost completely flat in the nose. The color and the aroma of the wine suggest a sweet wine but Viognier wines are predominantly dry, although sweet late-harvest dessert wines have been made. It is a grape with low acidity; it is sometimes used to soften wines made predominantly with the red Syrah grape. In addition to its softening qualities the grape also adds a stabilizing agent and enhanced perfume to the red wine.[1]

In winemaking, the grapes are often harvest early in the morning to produce the clearest juice possible. Some winemakers will allow contact with the skins. The soft skin of Viognier is high in phenols compounds which can leave an oily component to the wine if left in contact with the skins for too long. Sometimes the wine is put through malolactic fermentation to give the wine more weight and to decrease acidity. In New World Viognier, the lees (fermentation) maybe stirred in a process called batonnage in order to increase the acid levels of the wine. The wine is then left on the lees till bottling in a matter similar to sparkling wine production.[5]

In the creation of the dessert style Viognier, the grapes are often picked in late October or early November. In the Rhone region, the grapes normally are not affected by the fungus Botrytis cinerea though botrytized Viognier is not unheard of. A common harvest technique used in the Condrieu is known as à l'assiette where a plate is held underneath a Viognier vine that is then shaken to allow the overripe grapes to drop unto the plate. Fermentation is then stopped early through the use of sulphur to allow the wine to retain a high level of residual sugar. The wine is then chilled and put through sterile filtering to ensure that the wine is stable and will not start fermenting again in the bottle.[5]

The wine is meant to be consumed relatively young and typically loses its perfume as it ages. Depending on the winemaking style the grape can often hit its peak at one year of age though some can stay at high levels of quality up to ten years. Typically Condrieu wines are the Viogniers most often meant to be drunk young while Californian and Australian wines can handle age a little bit better.[10]

Answer 3

Viognier is a variety of grape that has characteristics of Sauvignon Blanc and the Riesling. It is grown in the Rhone region of Southern France. The fresh grape has a fragrance of muscat. It closely resembles the dry whites of Alsace. You might try the Viognier from the Graff family vineyard that is close to Chalone Vineyard in Monterey County California.

Depending on the maker it can be an extraordinary wine rivaling the great Sauvignon Blancs of the Bordeaux or the Chardonnays of the Burgundy.

Try it with roast veal or chicken. It would be great with christmas turkey. I would pair it with a chardonnay just to compare.

Answer 4

I love Viognier. It is kind of similiar in style to Sauvignon Blanc or PInot Grigio. It is fairly food friendly with nearly anything.

Viognier has been gaining in popularity the last few years.It is a predominately dry wine (not sweet at all) And goes really well with spicy foods like curries and thai.

Answer 5

it is a great wine ,not too dry ,excellent bouquet,intense flavor , try yalumba eden valley from aus. ,awesome