Unlike the “International” varieties such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier as a varietal only emerged from relative obscurity in the past twenty years or so. Cognoscenti knew it as a blending component for Syrah in the Rhone Valley’s Cote Rotie and, almost more obscurely, as a stand-alone in the tiny, northern Rhone appellation of Condrieu. Now grown on limited acreage in California and elsewhere Viognier (pronounced VeeOWNyay) has come to occupy a small but important niche in the greater world of wine. This offering from the Lodi appellation has a lovely, pale green-straw color befitting its youthful age and in fact is a wine best consumed in the flower of its youth. The aroma suggests flowers, honey clover and Chinese lychee. The fruit flavors are woven of ripe apple, pineapple and a hint of tangerine. The palate is nicely round and supple with a finish of clean acidity. This refreshingly quaffable white wine should be consumed over the coming year.

~ DANIEL GEHRS Founder/Winemaker