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Viognier and acidity

Yesterday I was taking abreak from cellar-building, and picked up Betsy's August issue of Food & Wine (a mag that sometimes has good recipes, but whose wine coverage is limited despite name). There's an article by Lettie Teague, the wine editor, re Califoria Viogniers. One phrase surprised me: "...both the lean, crisp Viogniers and the big, lush varieties, all of which have firm backbones of acidity, rich fruit...(blah blah)"

My (limited, it's not really my fave grape)experience of Viognier is that they oft tend towards the flabby, though some show somewhat balanced acidity. The idea that all Viogniers have firm backbones of acidity surprises me. I had a sip of a Wiliam Roan at a 4th party last night, I wouldn;t have described it that way at all. So have I just tried a misrepresentative sample? Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

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Dale Williams
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Yes, I'd say that was a misrepresentative sample of wine _writing_! ;^)

Tom S

Reply to
Tom S

Nope. CA Viogniers have very limited acidity, at least by my standards, which I think accounts for your problems pairing them with food (even when they aren't flabby and overoaked).

FWIW, I recently rediscovered a cookbook that we picked up at an Oregon winery a few years ago: "The Wine Lover's Cookbook" by Sid Goldstein -- director of marketing communications [whatever the heck *that* means] at Fetzer:

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In addition to some nice recipes, it also devotes quite a bit of space to pairing foods with various grapes, including Viognier. Scallops aren't mentioned among his pairings, though... :(

Mark Lipton

Reply to
Mark Lipton

I'm with you guys. I've responded to the raves of Viognier with the requisite sampling and found them unremarkable. I need more "stuff" in my stuff. They're a nice, crisp, variation from SB, GV, PG, etc. but not my cup of lush.

Ed Rasimus Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret) "When Thunder Rolled" Smithsonian Institution Press ISBN #1-58834-103-8

Reply to
Ed Rasimus

Try a better Condrieu before you completely dismiss Viognier.

I like the Chateau St. Cosme.

-jal

Reply to
John LaCour

Indeed, those from Villard, Cuilleron, Gaillard, Vernay and Gangloff are remarkable and have plenty of acidity to keep things balanced.

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link

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Reply to
Mike Tommasi

Not sure. The only Viognier I have tried was a McDowell from Mendocino. I liked it just fine, almost no detectable oakiness - I prefer whites without oak.

Dan-O

Reply to
Dan the Man

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