Great Northwest Wine
January 14, 2018

Viognier, the noble white grape of the northern Rhône Valley of France, has started to gain a strong foothold in the Pacific Northwest, rolling in on the wave of interest in Rhône varieties in our region.

It’s a maddeningly difficult grape to grow and often more difficult to craft into wine. However, it can make some gems in the Pacific Northwest. It is most famous in the Condrieu district of the Rhône, where it almost went extinct in the 1960s.

“I like all the iterations in Washington, which are all over the map — bone-dry, some Chardonnayesque with malolactic and oak — and that’s one thing that has confused consumers a bit,” said Maryhill Winery co-owner Craig Leuthold. “There’s not one style that our industry has taken to. I’m not fond of the California style of Viognier, which is so phenolic that it’s almost musky and too rich in flavor for people to take serious. I think Washington could take it some place.”>>>Read entire article featuring Woodinville Wineries, Armstrong Family Cellars and Cave B Estates on Great Northwest Wine

photo – Richard Duval Photography