Great White Hope
Maybe it’s just me, but I have never really been enamored of white wine, choosing the fine detail and vast complexity of excellent reds. In the past couple of years or so however, I am changing my mind about white wine. For one, I know for a fact that I have been exposed to much better white wine than in my past, and for two, I believe the quality of white wine has generally been elevated beyond the old mass-produced, under-ripe and over-oaked wines, mostly Californian and other “new world” Chardonnay, even though it can still be found today.
When I was young, I drank white Burgundy without knowing what it was, mostly Chablis. I still have a fondness for those wines, which of course are made from Chardonnay exclusively. As markets changed and evolved for better or for worse, those great French wines were more difficult to find and California Chards came into vogue. This is where whites ran off the tracks for me.
Recently however I have seen what great winemakers like Paul Hobbs can do with Chard and the result is truly stunning. So is the price. And even more recently I have gone crazy over Viognier (vee-oh-NYAY). It is believed that this grape was brought to the Northern Rhone region of France in about A.D. 281, its ancestor being an ancient grape known as Vugava. Within this region, Viognier is blended with Syrah to make its venerable Côte Rôtie (koht roh TEE) wine and is the only variety grown in the appellation of Condrieu (kawn-DrEE-yuy). Condrieu is about 500 acres so wine from this appellation is fairly rare and expensive. To hone in even more on exclusivity, within Condrieu is another appellation known as Château Grillet (gree-YEH), which consists of about 6 ½ acres, also planted exclusively with Viognier.
In the mid ‘80s Viognier was brought to California and planted extensively, mostly as a blending grape. Because it is becoming more popular with wine drinkers lately, Viognier has been popping up all over, producing stand-alone wines. But what I have tasted coming out of California and Australia do not even come close to Northern Rhone quality or style and remind me of how Chardonnay was mishandled by new world wineries back in the day.
The Rhone versions are dry, not sweet or semi-sweet. The aromatics will spin your head around – they are the white wine version of the beautiful floral bouquet typically found in high-end, mature Italian Borolo or Babaresco classics. Obviously they do not have the red or black fruit components but have the floral aromas of white flowers, apricots and peach, orange peel and ginger and a body with formidable weight. The Francois Villard, Les Contours de Deponcins, 2006 I recently drank had in addition to a great nose, a long, long creamy and layered finish, the length of which is rarely found in white wines. What a great find!
In the vineyard Viognier, unlike Chardonnay, is not as consistent or forthcoming. Although no grapes should be harvested “green”, Viognier especially will not produce good wine if it is picked from the vine too early. It requires some good hang time but balancing the acid content in the grape is tricky because the longer the grape is hanging on the vine, the lower its acidity will be and low acidity in white wine is analogous to making a flat and flabby wine. In other words, the grape becomes ripe with hang time on the vine but at the same time, the acidity content is falling too. Whites more than reds, rely on the zest of acidity for perceived freshness. All in balance of course.
Vignerons have instruments they employ in the field and in the lab that measure sugar content used to assess ripeness (and potential alcohol - a grape’s sugar converts to alcohol in the fermentation process) but with Viognier and many other varietals, it is important to know when to harvest based on taste, not scientific measurement.
Viognier can be oaked or not, can go through the process of malolactic fermentation or not (a process used frequently in making white wine and less frequently in reds, where the grape's natural malic acid is converted to a softer, rounder lactic acid), be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet, and because of all of the variables, wine consumers never quite know what to expect when they buy a bottle of this potentially great wine.
Just like enjoying great Chardonnay, with few exceptions, stay with French wines. For Viognier dig in to these beauties from Northern Rhone; it's your best bet to experience the greatest expression of this most rewarding and remarkable fruit. For me? I know I’m going to sink deeper into this. After all, I have pegged the future of my enjoyment of white wine on this singular varietal – my great white hope.
David Boyer
When I was young, I drank white Burgundy without knowing what it was, mostly Chablis. I still have a fondness for those wines, which of course are made from Chardonnay exclusively. As markets changed and evolved for better or for worse, those great French wines were more difficult to find and California Chards came into vogue. This is where whites ran off the tracks for me.
In the mid ‘80s Viognier was brought to California and planted extensively, mostly as a blending grape. Because it is becoming more popular with wine drinkers lately, Viognier has been popping up all over, producing stand-alone wines. But what I have tasted coming out of California and Australia do not even come close to Northern Rhone quality or style and remind me of how Chardonnay was mishandled by new world wineries back in the day.
The Rhone versions are dry, not sweet or semi-sweet. The aromatics will spin your head around – they are the white wine version of the beautiful floral bouquet typically found in high-end, mature Italian Borolo or Babaresco classics. Obviously they do not have the red or black fruit components but have the floral aromas of white flowers, apricots and peach, orange peel and ginger and a body with formidable weight. The Francois Villard, Les Contours de Deponcins, 2006 I recently drank had in addition to a great nose, a long, long creamy and layered finish, the length of which is rarely found in white wines. What a great find!
In the vineyard Viognier, unlike Chardonnay, is not as consistent or forthcoming. Although no grapes should be harvested “green”, Viognier especially will not produce good wine if it is picked from the vine too early. It requires some good hang time but balancing the acid content in the grape is tricky because the longer the grape is hanging on the vine, the lower its acidity will be and low acidity in white wine is analogous to making a flat and flabby wine. In other words, the grape becomes ripe with hang time on the vine but at the same time, the acidity content is falling too. Whites more than reds, rely on the zest of acidity for perceived freshness. All in balance of course.
Vignerons have instruments they employ in the field and in the lab that measure sugar content used to assess ripeness (and potential alcohol - a grape’s sugar converts to alcohol in the fermentation process) but with Viognier and many other varietals, it is important to know when to harvest based on taste, not scientific measurement.
Viognier can be oaked or not, can go through the process of malolactic fermentation or not (a process used frequently in making white wine and less frequently in reds, where the grape's natural malic acid is converted to a softer, rounder lactic acid), be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet, and because of all of the variables, wine consumers never quite know what to expect when they buy a bottle of this potentially great wine.
Just like enjoying great Chardonnay, with few exceptions, stay with French wines. For Viognier dig in to these beauties from Northern Rhone; it's your best bet to experience the greatest expression of this most rewarding and remarkable fruit. For me? I know I’m going to sink deeper into this. After all, I have pegged the future of my enjoyment of white wine on this singular varietal – my great white hope.
David Boyer
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