Jun 10 2009

Viognier: Can an Otherwise Springtime Wine Carry Into Summer?

Published by at 11:10 pm under Chicken,Food,Salad,Sushi,Viognier,White Wine

Here in Napa Valley we have been experiencing a cooler than normal summer.    This week alone, our daily high temperature is approximately ten degrees cooler than average.   As any other traditional lover of summer weather, I am longing for those warm lazy days and transitioning over to drink my traditional favorite summer wines.    But today as I wandered out to water my vegetable garden, I realized that there are some benefits to cooler June temperatures:  

(a) my garden is loaded with a wide variety of vegetables, some of which would have otherwise already peaked and stopped producing; and

(b) I can enjoy certain wines just a little bit longer before the truly dog days of summer descend upon me.   

One of those wines that I would typically shelve by June 15th is the white wine, Viognier.  

Viognier is different than chardonnay, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc or any other white wine, for that matter.    This wine separates itself from the rest based on, in my opinion, what greets you on the nose:  a unique perfumed bouquet.    Aromas of honeysuckle, gardenia, or herbal notes might be taken in and lush flavors of apricot, nectarine, ripe peach, and spices will traditionally entertain your palate regardless the vintner’s viognier.    

While this wine teases of big fruit on the palate, it does establish a sense of elegance in that it is also traditionally crisp.   The grape itself is actually delicate to grow because if it is not picked when it is fully ripe, many of the aromas and flavors that are described above will not be present in the wine later.    Because the grape must be picked when it is fully ripe, that means that the grape is allowed to sit on the vine longer than other grape varieties and therefore leading to a higher alcohol level.    You might be wondering,

“How do I know what the alcohol level is in my bottle of Viognier?”   

Generally it is found in a percentage and typically tiny font on the side of the label.     And even if you are served a Viognier and do not consciously know the alcohol content, your body will typically let you know because you will feel what people refer to as “the heat” off of the wine.    I know for a fact that if a wine is high in alcohol content that my cheeks flush red immediately.    

Why is knowledge of the alcohol level important? 

Aside from the obvious cautionary health and responsibility reasons, the other reason is that if you are pairing food with this wine, you will want to make sure that you include something substantial.    And that lovely romantic floral nose on Viognier can present a challenge in food pairing.  

Does this sound complicated?   It’s not.  

Really.    Trust me.    We just need to think outside the box.  

So what goes well with a wine that is traditionally floral on the nose?   In my opinion, anything with ginger pairs perfectly.  This means that certain Asian cuisine will go well.   I have found that sushi and sashimi pairs wonderfully if the alcohol content in the wine is not too high (my particular favorite being a spicy salmon roll with sliced ginger on top) or a chicken breast marinated with honey, ginger and teriyaki.  Tonight, I do not have sushi readily available and as I mentioned initially above, my garden is producing a variety of vegetables.   I decided that I wanted to use what I had and practice the concept of “sustainability”.    Here is what I picked from the garden tonight:

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Putting these vegetables together I can make a great salad.    And the flowers in the picture are edible.   The petals offer a slight aroma and a slight spicy element to the salad.  These will serve as a thoughtful tribute to the Viognier that I am going to pair.   On the grill, I grilled chicken breasts, slightly marinated in ginger, honey and teriyaki sauce.   I also grilled some zucchini from the garden and to really tie in the flavors of apricot, peach and nectarine in my wine, I decided to grill nectarine halves, too.    (Note:  if you do not have all of the fixings for a salad, grilling chicken, nectarines and zucchini will be more than ample and enhance the flavors in the Viognier.)  

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The result:   not only a delicious dinner, but a meal that produced a lot of great flavors that balanced out the perfumed nose of the Viognier.    And more importantly, while traditionally I have felt that ideally this wine has a smaller seasonal window for consumption (being from May to June 15th), I do think that Viognier can be enjoyed throughout the summer in the right setting.  

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*Viognier is traditionally found in France but California does produce quite a few Viognier wines.   California Viognier can be found throughout the Central Coast and also in Sonoma County and Napa County.    The Viognier that I enjoyed tonight can be found at Goosecross Cellars in Napa Valley and I have found its aromas, flavors, acidity, alcohol content and balance to be consistent over the last several years.    I do recommend that if you are visiting wine country that you try a variety of wineries’ Viognier to get a feel for what you can experience on your palate and ultimately enjoy.

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