On Saturday night, I sat at Piatti restaurant in La Jolla Shores, and ordered a glass of Viognier before dinner because I just couldn’t face another under-distinguished, over-oaked Chardonnay.
The wine arrived. I took a sip. And, like whoa…
When was the last time a sip of white wine stopped me mid-sentence, mid-thought? I sniffed and sipped some more. There was something fruity in the nose….Melon maybe? Pear? A whisper of jasmine and orange blossom, too.
And the taste….man, oh man, a sunny garden of apricots, melons, a hint of passion fruit, tangerine, and, again, those pears. But unlike so many fruit bombs, this one had some steeliness and enough acidity to perk up the palate, too.
Some people sit around waxing eloquently about wine all the time. I’m not one of them. That’s what made this experience so much fun.
The dazzler was Renwood Viognier. 2006. Widely available for about 11 bucks a bottle.
Renwood, located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, is best known for its award-winning Zinfandels, most of which cost $30 to $40. The family-run winery opened in 1993, when it produced 2,500 cases. Today it turns out about 100,000 cases, including “proprietary wines,” vineyard-designated wines, and, most recently, the lower-priced Red Label wines.
Viognier, pronounced VEE-ohn-yay, is an ancient grape that until fairly recently, grew pretty much only in France’s Northern Rhone region. In the mid-‘60s, it was almost extinct in France. Today it’s a darling of ABC drinkers (Anything But Chardonnay) and widely (and successfully) cultivated in California, Oregon and Washington, Australia, Italy’s Piedmont region, New Zealand, and even Brazil.
In France, the viognier grape is the only grape allowed in the Rhone wine known as Condrieu. 
Guigal is one of the best-known producers; prices in the U.S. generally hover around the $40-a-bottle mark.
Viognier is a charmer, with a surprise in every bottle. Some are lean and crisp, some are big and lush…depending upon where the grapes were grown. Unfortunately, from my personal viewpoint, some are overly high in alcoholic content. The Renwood is a rather modest 13.5 percent, a fact that, for me, adds to its elegance and appeal.
There are many Viogniers out there with pricetags over $25; some of the best of that bunch are said to be Calera, Qupe and Geyser Peak. It’s a bit harder to find treasures in the under-$20 category, but La Crema, Rosenblum and Hogue are highly regarded.
Renwood Viognier seems to me to be a rather unique triumph, delivering so much satisfaction for just 10 or 11 bucks a bottle
If you have a favorite that can give the Renwood a run for its money, I’d like to hear about it.
