Wine Blogging Wednesday #46: Rhone Whites from Anywhere (and we mean anywhere!)

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Welcome to Wine Blogging Wednesday! This month, the theme is Rhone Whites from anywhere in the world. This month’s adventure is graciously hosted by Dr. Debs over at Good Wine Under $20. Here’s what Deb has to say about her choice of topic:

Some of the best options for summer white wines are made with one or more of the classic Rhone grape varieties: Bourbolenc, Clairette Blanc,
Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains, Picardin, Picpoul, Roussanne, Ugni Blanc, and Viognier. Wines made with these grapes tend to be aromatic, and can often rival your summer garden in
terms of lush floral and fruity fragrances.

For Kevin and I, this is a joint post for once. He wrote the majority of it though. And our wine is from the last place you’d imagine we’d find an estate-grown Rhone grape.

Becker Vineyards 2006 Viognier

At the beginning of the year, Michelle and I visited a friend down in Austin and took a trip over to Texas Hill Country, where you’ll find countless wineries. One of the places we visited was Becker Vineyards and picked up a bottle of their 2006 Viognier. When we popped it open last week, it remained as fresh and fruity as when I first tasted it and at $14.95, I found it a great value from the Lone Star State.

This version of Viognier has a nice vanilla and light oak nose along with the sweetness of a little residual sugar. The 14.5% AbV did not carry to a very heavy, bitter or overly harsh flavor. One of our recent favorites has been Mr. Black’s Concoction – a Syrah/Viognier blend that took the light fruit of the Vigonier and
added it to the dark richness of the Syrah. This pure example from Texas provides a very nice sampling of what a winemaker can do to bring out a flavor, combining the peachy and citrus characteristics of the wine.

One of the best compliments I can give a wine is to pick up a bottle for later and I think picking up the bottle to bring home from the winery counts as well. This is a grape, I don’t get a lot of exposure to in a
single varietal but it is a nice crisp wine for a muggy late spring night in Cincinnati.

Our ratings:
Kevin: Michelle

Kevin @ the Becker Vineyards Tasting Room, 02/08

Posted by Michelle at 9:15 am in Tastings, WBW | Permalink | Comments (2)

2 Responses to “Wine Blogging Wednesday #46: Rhone Whites from Anywhere (and we mean anywhere!)”

Dr. Debs says:

June 11, 2008 at 11:24 am

Texas, huh? OK, you stumped the professor on this one! Thanks to both of you for pitching in and reviewing such an interesting wine (even better that Kevin liked it so much!)
Dale Cruse says:

June 11, 2008 at 7:57 pm

Sounds like you enjoyed your Wine Blogging Wednesday as much as I did! Check out my white Cotes du Rhone: http://drinksareonme.net/?p=306