#WBW78 Viognier, Viggy Or as we say vee-ohn-YAY!

Being generally amorous towards all things Rhone, this month's Wine Blogging Wednesday assignment gave us an opportunity to "Vig" out.  Apparently at the great wine blogger's conference of '11 the nickname "viggy" was foisted upon Viognier.  It is easier to say.  Although it doesn't as easily convey the exotic, floral, stone fruit redolent wine we love.  The BrixChicks, including a rare appearance by BrixChico, Vince, gathered various noshes, aromatic curry, chicken satay, prosciutto wrapped melon, cracked crab, spicy samosas and apricot tart, rolled up our sleeves and got our Viognier on.  The first wine I presented came from far off South Africa

2009 Spice Route Viognier, Swartland, South Africa  Hailing from the  Cape West Coast, Charles Back heads up the Spice Route team at the winery he founded in 1997.  They till the  Swartland soil without irrigation to get an expressive fruit.  This is left on the lees 11 months and aged in old french oak.  We found the wine to be a great pair for food.  It was a pretty light bronze color.  We got  muted aromas of nectarine and a hint of the orange peel much later.  The texture was medium full and very tart without the rampant aromas of flowers and stone fruit we expected.  We categorized it as food slutty because it worked so much better with food than without and proved itself a versatile pair to all the dishes on the table including plain cantaloupe. I found this at wine.com for $15.

Next up was one of my favorite producers in the world,

2010 Twisted Oak Viognier, Calaveras County,California,  USA : Jeff Stai and his Twisted team give the most fun parties and it is a super wine club to belong to.  This Viognier comes from the Dalton Vineyard.  Gold colored, the wine had balanced aromas of tropical notes with stone fruit.  I think my stone fruit exemplars might have been wafting over, because I got more nectarine and apricot as well as coconut.  The flavors were lovely and tart.  And while the wine was easy to sip alone, it was easy to pair with everything and was especially tasty with the peanut sauce dipped chicken satay.  Yummy!  This wine came in my club shipment and you can order it online for $15.  If you find yourself near Murphys, Twisted Oaks is a must visit for a wine sploshed fun filled good time.

And with all my posse gathered, I couldn't resist opening up

2009 Route 128 Viognier Opatz Family Vineyard, Yorkville Highlands, California USA    Route 128 is a true Mom and Pop place in the supercute town of Geyserville, where if you visit on an event day, Pete and Lorna will be working the counter and eager to share their wonderful wine.  Chances are a family member will be grilling house made sausages. Yum!  The real story is the wine.  The fruit for the limited production wine comes from the Yorkville Highlands, which are right between the Anderson and Alexander Valleys.  A pale gold color, the aromas were balanced between floral and stone fruit. A hint of yummy bitterness in the mid palate, along with that sprightly acidity made it pair well with all our east Indian and Asian snacks.  The website boasts that the wine will complement the creamiest of sauces.  So I am glad I have another bottle stashed away to pair with smoked salmon fettuccine Alfredo.  At $19 it is a great buy.  And another fun place to visit. Tasting room is open Thursday through Sunday 21079 Geyserville Avenue
Downtown Geyserville  707-696-0004

So another fun Wine Blogging Wednesday.  Our Viogniers ranged from restrained and make you strain to pick up the muted fruit all the way to blasting jasmine and peach.  But all the selections were tart, tasty and great to pair with food.  Call it Viggy.  Call it what you want, but don't call it late to dinner!