Are you a Chardonnay fan and want to find some good wine alternatives you might like? Well, look no further because this is the episode for you! In an effort to expand your wine horizons and give you some options to consider when your go-to may not be available, we bring you Viognier. With some similarities in flavors, body, and acidity, Viognier can be a great choice for Chardonnay lovers. In this episode we taste and review three Viogniers that are reasonably priced and should be easy to find to let you know if you should buy them. And, spoiler alert, we think there is one you should avoid! Wines reviewed in this episode: 2021 Montpellier Viognier, 2020 Jones of Washington Viognier, and 2019 Yalumba “Y” Series Viognier.
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Show Notes
Episode 32: If You Like Chardonnay, You’ll Love Viognier (White wine alternatives for Chardonnay, white wine for red wine drinkers, the right white wine temperature) 00:00
Hello! And welcome to the Wine Pair podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and wine-pairing partner in crime - Carmela. And we are the Wine Pair.
Alright. For new listeners to our Podcast - our goal, our purpose in life, is to help you find and discover something new about wine - so every episode we taste and review three wines that are reasonably priced - which means under $20 - and that you should be able to easily find in a local store or online. And, we also talk about different types of wines and other fun stuff related to wine.
And this week, Carmela, we are going to try something that is a little bit of a twist on a series that people seem to like. So, we have a series called the WTF series, and in fact, last week we had an episode on it. The heart of the WTF series is to introduce you, our beloved listeners, to wines that you may not have heard of - or that you may have heard of and are curious about - to let you know more about them so you can see if there are wines out there that you might like to try - to expand your horizons.
And, afterall, one of the best ways to really start learning about wines is to just taste a bunch of different wines! You are on this journey with us.
So the twist on the WTF series that we are going to start doing today is called “if you like this, then you’ll love that” - in an attempt to help you discover wines that may be good alternatives to wines you already drink and that you may lean on a little harder than you should. This may help you find other options when you are out to dinner or a friend’s house or something and you are trying to figure out what to drink, and maybe your favorite isn’t available or you just want to try something new.
And, to be totally honest, we also want to help wean you from your over-reliance on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay, because we think those wines are a little over-rated, and, are frankly just wines that are over-represented in stores. After all, there are hundreds and hundreds of different types of wines out there just waiting for you to discover.
So, this week, we are dedicating this episode to the Chardonnay fans out there, and we are going to talk about a wine that we think you will like called Viognier (vee-awe-nyay) - a wine that may give you some other options when you are out and about.
Now, a few other things we have to say as we get rolling in this episode, although some of this is a bit of a repeat if you are frequent listeners of the podcast. First, we are not the biggest fans of Chardonnay - at least not of oaked Chardonnay - and we are not actually the biggest fans of Cabernet and Merlot, either, but our point here is not to dissuade you from drinking those wines, but to help you find other options. If you love Chardonnay, that’s ok! And the other thing that we know is that everyone’s palate or preference for wine is different and it is very personal, so we’ll taste and talk about wines like Chardonnay and Viognier, but our taste may be very different from yours, and that is more than fine.
In fact, what we hope is that, as you listen to us more and more, you will start to understand what you like compared to what we like, and then start to decide what you will drink or buy based on that. So, you may know that, hey, if Joe and Carmela really don’t like a wine, I may actually love it because our taste preferences are so different. And we would LOVE that.
[For a little context on a totally different scale - I have said this before, but there is a wine reviewer and expert named Robert Parker. He is super famous. And I know that if he rates a wine highly, I probably won’t like it. There is another named Antonio Galloni, and if he likes a wine, I am buying it. And having that kind of reference point is super helpful to me - and we want to be that kind of helpful to you!]
The second thing I want to say really quickly is that we butchered the pronunciation of Viognier (vee-awe-nyay) in our last episode, and so we are going to make up for it in this episode by being really annoying and over-enunciating it today. We always tend to make Italian the pronunciation of things, and that did not help us! So, let’s say it three times fast! Viognier!
Ok, we have lots more to talk about and three wines to taste and review, but . . . we have to do our shameless plug, Carmela. First, please consider subscribing to our podcast so that you never miss one of our shows. And, if you like what you are hearing, we would love a rating and review so you can help others find us.
If you want to reach out to us with ideas, or thoughts, or just to talk - you can DM us on Instagram at thewinepairpodcast or contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com.
And, every week we tell you someone we think you should tell about The Wine Pair Podcast, and this week we think you should tell the lifeguard at your local swimming pool about us. Although we think you should also tell them not to drink on the job.
Topic: Viognier - an Alternative for Chardonnay Fans 08:32
So, Carmela, you say you love Chardonnay but you are looking for other options?!? And you want these other options because you want to add a little variety in your life?!? Or maybe you’re worried about going to someone’s house or party or to a restaurant and being confronted with a wine list and not knowing what wine you should choose because you just don’t know the difference between them.
Well, we are here to help.
Now, a lot of people love Chardonnay for a number of reasons. What are some of those reasons, do you think, Carmela?!? And, by and large here we are talking about the more well known style of Chardonnay that is oaked and has a very buttery and vanilla-y taste.
So, let’s nerd out for just a second on Chardonnay. First, the oaky version of Chardonnay comes from the Burgundy area of France, where, of course, Pinot Noir is also from, and the specific area of France that is most famous is called Cote d’Or. But really Chardonnay is found all over the region. Second, the unoaked version of Chardonnay that we like the most comes from, and is called, Chablis. Third, one of our favorite wines, Champagne, which of course comes from the Champagne area of France, is made from, at least in part, Chardonnay. I bet all of you in listening land may not have known that.
An oaky Chardonnay is known for flavors like vanilla, butter, caramel, pineapple, starfruit (which is kind of a combo if pear/green grape/orange) white flowers, lime or lemon, peaches, and chalk.
Viognier has some similarities. First, from a mouthfeel standpoint, the two wines have similar bodies, and Viognier is sometimes described as “oily” which to me means rich and compares well to buttery. They are also lower in acidity than many white wines. Some flavors and smells that have some overlap with Chardonnay are tangerine or orange, peach or apricot, honey or honeysuckle, citrus, and flowers among others. Like Chardonnay, Viognier can be oaked or unoaked, and the oaked versions of the two are going to be the most similar.
And, even experts can have trouble distinguishing between the two. From an article I read on the interwebs, and have linked in our show notes, blind tastings between oaked Chardonnay and oaked Viognier can be very challenging.
A few differences some of these articles on the interwebs have noted between Chardonnay and Viognier: first, it can have more and more varied aromas than a Chardonnay.
Second, Viognier can differ a bit in how it starts out in your mouth - Chardonnay can be a bit more bold at first, while Viognier starts a bit softer, it gets richer as it sits in the mouth. Viognier can also be a little bitter at the end, which some people really like.
One article I read states that Viognier is more flexible in terms of the foods it can be served with, and is often a white wine that red wine drinkers like because of its body and complexity.
Another article, and again, links to these will be in our show notes, called Love chardonnay? Give viognier a try says: for people who love white wine that is dry but also feels soft and round, with medium to full body, plus qualities transcending chardonnay’s more expected flavors.
To me, this sounds like a great reason to add Viognier to your repertoire, especially if you like oaked Chardonnay.
ARTICLES
https://subrosawine.com/how-to-get-your-chardonnay-drinking-friends-to-try-viognier/
https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/differences-between-chardonnay-and-viognier/
https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/guide-to-burgundy-wine-with-maps/
https://chardonnayfans.com/best-french-chardonnay#:~:text=Oaked%20Chardonnays%20are%20rich%2C%20full,have%20more%20tropical%20fruit%20flavours.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/your-marlborough/wine/279974/Giving-viognier-a-try
https://www.gazettenet.com/wine-16778590
https://www.winespectator.com/articles/viognier-57818
Viognier Wines we chose for this episode 15:21
So, let’s talk about the Viognier wines that we are trying today. Viognier’s homeland, if you will, is the Rhone Valley of France. And, as we mentioned last week, Viognier is grown alongside Syrah in the Rhone Valley, and they are often blended together - to both smooth out the taste, and, surprisingly, to deepen the color, which is so strange since Viognier is a white wine.
And, in another reminder for our lovely listeners, if you are looking for Viognier in French wines, it can be really hard to do by looking for the name of the varietal on the label. While some may say Viognier on them, a lot will just say the area they are from, and you just kind of have to know what you are looking for. The best examples I can give are to look for wines called Condrieu (khan-dree-uh) from the Condrieu area of the Rhone Valley in France as well as Languedoc (long-daak) also in the southern Rhone.
Another note on Viognier is that it can be found quite often as part of a blend, and this is true in France, as well as in many wines from around the world - Chenin Blanc & Viognier is common, as is Pinot Grigio or Gris, Marsanne (mer-san), and others. As we mentioned, in Syrah it can be added to deepen the color, but in some white blends it is added to also add some complexity and body
(On a side note, Jancis Robinson in an article you can find in our show notes made a comment that in the mid-80’s, Viognier had almost ceased to exist!)
However, all of the Viognier’s we are having today are from different areas and not from France, and at least one of them I know you can find all over the place. We have a Viognier from Southern Australia called Yalumba with a big Y on the label, and this one I think you can find all over the place. Another we are tasting is from Napa California, and is very reasonably priced, and I think also easy to find called Mountpellier. The third is from right here in the great state of Washington, and it is from a winery called Jones of Washington. That may not be the easiest for you all to find, but there is a lot of Viognier being made right here in Washington state
One, note too, about Viognier and white wines in general that we have been talking about. Sometimes, you want your white wine to be just ice cold - but in general, we serve our whites too cold. For a white wine like Chardonnay or Viognier in particular, that have more body and some complexity, it is important that you don’t serve them too cold! In fact, close to room temperature if the best. Otherwise, the flavors and aromas get really muted, and the oak can be overwhelming. This is a really important thing that we are discovering. So, if you are chilling your wines, either chill them just before you are going to serve them or if they are already in a fridge, take them out early so that they are closer to room temperature. It totally changes the wine. We suggest you try it sometime to test it out yourself.
I tried to see if there was a shortcut to find Viognier that is oaked, but honestly, it was very very difficult to find. So, I suggest you just keep your eyes open, and if any of you out there in listening land want to let us know where we can find some oaked Viognier, let us know and we’ll give you a shout out and share in the show notes.
Articles
https://thegrapegrind.com/all-you-need-to-know-about-viognier-a-quick-guide/
https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/white/viognier
https://www.virginwines.co.uk/hub/wine-guide/grape-varieties/viognier/#:~:text=Viognier%20Tasting%20Notes&text=Rich%20and%20spicy%20with%20mouth,it%20a%20rounded%2C%20smooth%20finish.
Ok, enough with this jibber jabber - let’s get to it!
Viognier wine tasting and review 21:03
Wine: Montpellier Viognier
Region: California, Napa
Producer: Montpellier Vineyards, part of Bronco Wine Company
Year: 2021
Price: $8.99
Retailer: QFC (Kroger)
Alcohol: 12.5%
Grapes: Viognier
Professional Rating:
What we tasted and smelled: Strawberry or watermelon Jolly Rancher, bubblegum, apple, honey, apple dipped in lemon, rock, floral tea. Sweet and tart with some spice. Fuller bodied for a white.
Food pairing with: Appetizer wine. Brie with fig jam.
Rating:
Joe: 6
Carmela: 7
Wine: Jones of Washington Viognier
Region: Washington, Columbia Valley
Producer: Jones of Washington - family owned
Year: 2020
Price: $14.99
Retailer: QFC (Kroger)
Alcohol: 13.2%
Grapes: Viognier
Professional Rating:
What we tasted and smelled: Sparkling apple cider, spicy, yeast, almond croissant, watermelon, melon, baking spices, juice from a canned fruit or fruit cup. Lacks acidity. More refined than the last wine. Cocktail hour wine.
Food pairing with: Doesn't need food
Rating:
Joe: 7
Carmela: 7
Wine: Yalumba “Y” Series Viognier
Region: Southern Australia
Producer: Yalumba is owned by the Hill-Smith family
Year: 2019
Price: $9.99
Retailer: Total Wine (also at QFC)
Alcohol: 13.5%
Grapes: Viognier
Professional Rating: 90 Wine Spectator
What we tasted and smelled: Not loving the smell. Asparagus, urine, cut grass, gasoline, lemon, rubbing alcohol. Tannin. The skin of a grapes. Sweet and tart, some bitterness. Tastes better than it smells, but still a funky taste. May be oaked?
Food pairing with: Not a stand alone wine. Pretzels.Bread. Hot dogs.
Rating:
Joe: 4
Carmela: 5
Which one of these are you finishing tonight?
Carmela: Montpellier
Joe: Jones of Washington
Taste profiles expected from Viognier: 44:17
Stone fruit like apricots, peaches, cantaloupe, pears, Granny Smith apples, orange citrus
Spicy, including ginger, or even gingerbread, honeysuckle, white flowers, white tea, dried figs, fennel
Tangerine, mango, rose
Often hear about Viognier being paired with spicy food, and Thai food as well as Curries in particular, which sounds fantastic!
Outro and how to find us 46:35
As always, thank you so very much for listening to us, The Wine Pair, and you know, while you’re thinking about it, we think you should subscribe and give us a nice rating!
We would also love to hear from you. Please reach out to us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, you can email us at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com, you can follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and we would be so happy if you DM’ed us and told us what you think, if you have ideas for future episodes or wines you are curious about or wine styles you are interested in or ways of growing wines you are curious about! And, we hope you tell your friends and family and loved ones and your mom and everyone who ever said anything nice to you about us!
Thanks for listening to the Wine Pair podcast, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine