OK, so here’s the deal. A few wine folks were bantering back and forth recently about viognier, that great white wine grape that many red wine drinkers think of as their white wine.
One thing led to another, as it always does on Twitter, and before we knew it we had ourselves a Tweetup, a wide-ranging tasting of viogniers from not only Niagara but the Okanagan Valley as well.
Jay Johnston, a winemaker at Hidden Bench winery in Beamsville, offered up his gorgeous tasting room as a venue for 20 or so tasters. A lineup of viogniers was put together, all for the single cause of discovering new and exciting Canadian wines.
The event will be conducted this Sunday (Dec. 19) at 1 p.m. with many of the tasters tweeting about what they are enjoying.
You can taste and tweet along with us on Sunday by grabbing a bottle of your favourite viognier and tweeting your thoughts using the hashtag #VioPalooza.
If you want, you can search out any of the wines below (some are not released, however) and join with us. Or grab any of your favourite viogniers and add to the conversation. It’s simple.
The Wines (others may be added to the tasting):
• Peninsula Ridge Viognier 2008 ($14, unoaked)
• Château des Charmes St. David’s Bench Viognier 2008 ($26, 14% alcohol, unoaked, not released yet)
• Silkscarf Viognier 2008 Okanagan Valley ($22, 13% alcohol, touch of RS, no oak)
• Fielding Estate 2006 Viognier ($30, 13% alcohol, 100% stainless steel)
• Fielding Estate 2009 Viognier ($30, 13% alcohol, 100% stainless steel)
• Organized Crime Viognier 2008 ($26, 12.3% alcohol, finished dry in an elegant style)
• Jackson-Triggs Silver Series Viognier 2009 ($19, Okanagan, unoaked)
• Alvento Vio 2007 ($26, 13.5% alcohol, fermented in stainless steel tank, sur lie with batonnage)
• Sandhill Small Lots Program Viognier 2008 B.C. ($25, usually 14 + alcohol, finished dry, unoaked, late picked, this was the white wine of the year at the Canadian Wine Awards)
• Peninsula Ridge Reserve Viognier 2006 ($25, 12.5% alcohol,)
• Peninsula Ridge Reserve Viognier 2007 ($25)
• Hillside Estate Viognier 2009 ($25, Okanagan, partial barrel ferment in year-old Hungarian-French oak, barrel aged 4 months, 13.5% alcohol)
• Stag’s Hollow Viognier 2008 ($25, Okanagan, 14.5% alcohol, touch of RS, barrel fermented and aged only 3 months)
• Stag’s Hollow Viognier-Marsanne 2008 (price NA, Okanagan, 14.1%, 83% Viognier, 17% Marsanne, barrel fermented in 100% new oak and aged in oak for 8 months)
• Creekside Reserve Viognier 2009 ($29, 13.3% alcohol, St. David’s Bench, barrel fermented in neutral oak, finished bone dry)
• Creekside Viognier Reserve 2008 (Queenston Road)
• Hidden Bench Locust Lane Vineyard Viognier 2006 ($35, 13.2% alc, small batch, fermented in neutral oak, sold out)
• Hidden Bench Locust Lane Vineyard Viognier 2007 ($35, 13.4% alc, small batch, fermented in neutral oak, sold out)
• Hidden Bench Locust Lane Vineyard Viognier 2008 ($35, 12.9% alc, small batch, fermented in neutral oak, sold out)
• Hidden Bench Locust Lane Vineyard Viognier 2009 ($35, 13% alc, small batch, fermented in neutral oak, available)
• Stratus Viognier 2008 ($38, 13.5% above, 20 months in 33% oak, 22 Brix at harvest)
• Daniel Lenko Viognier 2007 ($40, 14% alcohol)
• Creekside Undercurrent Viognier 2008 (price NA, 18 months in oak barrels, perfect fit for Undercurrent series)
That is quite the list! All I have to follow with is a 2006 Peninsula Ridge and the 07 Alvento. Might be too much for me alone though…
Ha! At least you have a couple of bottles of vio. It’s very hard to find any if you don’t make regular trips to Niagara (which I know you do). Such an overlooked category. But look at the producers who are making it. Quality wineries making great juice!