What kind of wine is Viognier?
Viognier is an aromatic golden wine grape famous in France for making deliciously opulent and aromatic white wines, but many wine lovers haven’t explored it yet. Despite its charms, Viognier has remained an underappreciated niche varietal popular in the Rhône Valley and with Rhône-loving winemakers around the world.
Viognier has a few issues that have kept it from becoming the next big thing in white wine, starting with the tricky name. Viognier is a French name that’s pronounced VEE-ohn-yay.
Viognier is made in many styles, so uncorking a bottle of Viognier can be like digging into Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get. Some Viogniers are opulent and fragrant with stone fruit, melon, and citrus, similar to Riesling. Other Viognier wines evoke Chardonnay with oak aging and secondary fermentation that can give them vanilla, spice, and butter aromas and a richer mouthfeel. Finally, Viognier it’s often blended with other grapes, so its name isn’t always on the front of the bottle. It’s blended with higher acid white grapes like Grenache Blanc in Rhône blends and mixed with Syrah to add more roundness and perfume while stabilizing the red wine’s pigments.
But seeking out 100% Viognier wines made in the Rhône style is worth the effort.
4 facts to know about Viognier
● The Viognier grape originated in Croatia and shares DNA with the Italian red grapes Freisa and Nebbiolo.
● The name Viognier is based on the Celtic word vidu, which means wood.
● Viognier has been grown in France’s Rhône Valley since 281 AD when an emperor imported the grapevines from Croatia.
● The most famous Viognier wines in the world come from Condrieu and Château-Grillet, small Rhône Valley wine regions.
Color
Tasting profile
Viognier grapes are very sweet with lower acid when ripe, producing white wines with alluring aromas and rich texture that can make the mouth feel oily, like after eating macadamia nuts. Despite the fruity aromatics, most Viognier wines are dry, without any taste of sweetness. Like most white wine grapes, Viognier is low in tannins.
Primary Viognier flavors
The best Viognier wines are opulent with aromas and flavors of fruit, including peach, apricot, tangerine, melon, and lychee, plus notes of honeysuckle, orange blossom, and chamomile tea. Oak-aged Viognier can also taste of vanilla and nutmeg, while some sweet late harvest Viogniers can show deeper notes of dried peach, tea, and rose petal.
Shop the Flavors of Viognier
Key Viognier winemaking regions
Viognier grapes are grown in many wine regions, even though they’re somewhat challenging. The vines bud early, so they’re vulnerable to frost and can develop mold quickly. But it can’t be too hot, or the Viognier grapes are likely to get sunburned. Viognier grape vines thrive in areas with long growing seasons, abundant sunshine, and cool nights to preserve acidity.
France
Viognier became famous in France, especially in the Rhône, where winemakers craft voluptuous Viognier wines and white blends with heady aromas and luxurious texture.
Condrieu + Château-Grillet
In this tiny northern Rhône appellation, Viognier is the only grape allowed by law. You’ll find Viognier wines that are dry, slightly sweet, and fully sweet dessert wines. Expect complex wines with medium body and notes of citrus blossom, peach, tangerine, pear melon, and licorice, while sweeter wines have more dried stone fruit, sweet spice, and honey notes. Château-Grillet is a monopole, an appellation owned by one winery, dedicated 100% to Viognier.
Languedoc-Roussillon
Viognier is a perfect fit for the hot Mediterranean climate here in Southern France. Planted in rocky areas, Viognier shows more minerality and characteristic peach, melon, orange, and floral notes. Like other Languedoc wines, Viognier from this region offers excellent value.
South Africa
Charles Back first planted Viognier vines in the Paarl in 1989. Today it’s grown in every winemaking region. Still, the best South African Viognier comes from cooler areas in Paarl, Stellenbosch, and Swartland, where Viognier shows classic citrus blossom, apricot, honey, and warm spice notes.
United States
Viognier is one of the most popular white Rhône varietals in the United States, beloved by Rhône Rangers, American winemakers who love the region’s wines. Viognier flourishes in Central California, Sonoma, and Napa Valley, plus Washington State and Texas.
Washington
Some of the oldest Viognier plantings in Washington State date to the mid-1990s. The owners of McCrea Vineyards, a dedicated Rhône Rangers, started selling Viognier sourced from Yakima Valley in the late 1990s. Most of Washington’s Viognier comes from the Columbia Valley. Maryhill Winery is the largest producer in the state, creating a leaner Viognier with minerality, honeysuckle, and peach. Red Mountain and Royal Slope, nested AVAs inside Columbia Valley, are noted for Viognier.
California
Rhône wine devotees throughout California from Paso Robles and Gold Country to Sonoma and Napa Valley create Viognier bottlings in various styles.
Napa Valley
Though Viognier isn’t a significant varietal here, a few long-established Napa wineries have a sweet spot for Viognier. The wines are rich with reasonably high alcohol and peach, pear, and orange flavors. Viognier also stars in Napa Rhone-inspired white blends, including Inglenook’s Blancaneaux and Conundrum created by Caymus.
Central California
The hot days and chilly nights make Paso Robles, the Sierra Foothills, and Gold Country ideal places for growing Viognier, and you’ll find the widest variety of California Viogniers here. They’re made in a range of styles with classic notes of peach, melon, and honeysuckle, along with a balance between acidity and richness.
Other regions
Viognier grows well in temperate areas of South America, Australia, and Italy.
Viognier food pairings
Viognier’s weight and lush aromas and flavors make it a perfect pairing with light and richly flavored foods. Think poultry and chicken of all kinds, from roasted to fried, and shellfish like shrimp, crab, and lobster. It’s lovely with fruit salads featuring sweet citrus, melon, stone fruit, and light fruit desserts – make sure the wine is sweeter than the dessert. Lower alcohol Viogniers shine with spicy foods like curries from India and Thailand.
How to store, serve, & enjoy Viognier
Like other white wines, Viognier tastes best when served chilled to about 52 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Just put the bottle in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.
Drink Viognier from the same tapered white wine glass you’d use for Chardonnay or Riesling to appreciate the full aromas.
If you’re curious about Viognier and other underappreciated white wines from France, explore our guide on French wine regions.
