globalgourmet.com | WineDay | Annex

"Move Over, Chardonnay"

by Fred McMillin   Prologue Interest in Viognier continues to increase as evidenced by the number of new producers all over the world making the wine. ...Edward Lazarus, The Underground Wine Journal Viognier makes a full-bodied, rich white wine that [should prove] attractive to Chardonnay lovers. ...Wine Spectator   The Rest of the Story So is Viognier becoming a more attractive wine than Chardonnay? To get an idea, I matched five Viogniers against equally-priced Chardonnays. When we uncovered the winners, here's what we found.   Winning Varietal Rating Price Winery/Appellation Chardonnay 82 $9 Black Marlin, S.E. Australia Chardonnay 83 $10 Wente, Central Coast, CA Chardonnay 83 $23 Robert Mondavi, Carneros Viognier 84 $12 R.H. Phillips, Dunnigan Hills Chardonnay 86 $16 Adler Fels RESERVE, Sonoma County (pictured)   Conclusion This test tells us Chardonnay's sales leadership is safe for a while longer.   Postscript Viognier is one of the oldest white-wine varieties. Prof. John Baxevanis says its origins go back to early Neolithic (later part of the Stone Age) civilizations.

globalgourmet.com | WineDay | Annex   Copyright © 1999, The electronic Gourmet Guide, Inc. All Rights reserved.