March 14, 2002

The Grapevine!

by Bob Senn
 
Viognier-the Holy Grail of white wine!

Now and then a wine comes along that really knocks my socks off. Maybe I'm somewhat jaded, but I wish it would happen more often! Last week Wendy, a friend of mine, tasted me on a viognier dessert wine from Andrew Murray Vineyards called Mon Amour. This wine is rich in the mouth, with fine viscosity and mouth feel. I think the wine is as perfect as wine can get. The flavors are delicious and the wine is in perfect balance. By that, I mean the acidity in the wine and the residual sugar are in perfect balance -- the acidity is sufficient to make the wine very interesting in the mouth as a counterpoint to the rich sweetness.

This dessert viognier reflects a deep gold to copper color, and "gives off a sense of extravagance" noted Kirk Irwin, a local resident and prominent wine country photographer. We tasted the wine when Kirk and Bev Irwin were dinner guests at my house in Los Alamos.

Viognier is the white grape of the Condrieu, Chateau Grillet and Cote Rotie appellations of the northern Rhone Valley in France. Many winemakers would consider viognier the "holy grail" of white wine, much like pinot noir is to red wine. It's fickle, shy-bearing and hard to vinify; it's a real challenge to the winemaker. Andrew Murray should be complimented for this fine winemaking effort.

I learned some years ago from John Alban, probably the foremost expert on Rhone wines and varietals in the New World, that viognier is a terpenoid varietal like riesling and gewurztraminer. These varietals have delicate terpenes which give the wines their distinctive delicate fragrances. Any wine varietal can be made as a dry wine or a sweet wine. As consumers, we frequently know riesling as a sweet dessert wine. Gewurztraminers in California are often produced as off-dry, meaning they might contain, say, one to three percent residual sugar. Both varietals are notably produced as dry wines in Alsace. Viognier is usually produced as a totally dry wine. Only rarely is it made as a dessert wine.

In writing this edition of "Grapevine" I spoke to John Alban again for more clarification on the term, "terpenoid," because the usual mass-appeal dictionary simplistically  talks about turpentine. John Alban told me that "terpene" refers to a very broad class of chemical compounds, one of which is linalool. Linalool occurs naturally in varietals like riesling, viognier and muscat too. For example, John told me, linalool causes that bright fruit character in riesling that distinguishes it from all other grape varietals, and it's important to note that linalool is not added to the wine, but occurs naturally in the grape. What I think is fascinating however is that linalool is chemically synthesized and added to Fruit Loops, John told me!

This 2000 vintage Mon Amour is a seminal wine. It retails for $20, and it's worth searching out. I know it is available at the Andrew Murray tasting room in Los Olivos.

Events

A number of winemaker dinners have been scheduled in conjunction with the 20th anniversary Vintners' Festival.

Thursday, April 18: * Babcock, Brander and Longoria host a dinner at the Stonehouse Restaurant at Montecito's San Ysidro Ranch.  (805) 969-5046.

Friday, April, 19:


Saturday, April 20:


Reservations are required for all the dinners.
 

Futures File

Save the date! The 10th annual Hospice du Rhone takes place at the California Mid-State Fairgrounds in Paso Robles May 30-June 1. For information, call  (805) 784-9543.

Bon appetit!
 

Rhone wine lover Bob Senn lives in the Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.

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