Viognier Wines

Viognier is one of the world's most aromatic white grapes, with a perfume of apricot, white peach, ginger, jasmine and honeysuckle and a full-bodied, almost oily texture. Until recently it was a cult grape confined to the northern Rhône, where Condrieu is its most celebrated wine and where a small proportion is co-fermented with Syrah in Côte-Rôtie. But wine is just as susceptible to the fads of fashion as clothes and hairdos, and Viognier is now grown worldwide, with particular success in southern France and Australia, where it is also co-fermented with Shiraz to lift aroma and texture. In southern France, just a little Viognier goes a long way to elevate white blends, and that is where our range sits: blends in which Viognier adds perfume and richness, including Le Petit Balthazar Viognier-Sauvignon Blanc from the Pays d'Oc, Bergerie de l'Hortus Blanc from the Languedoc and Las Cuadras Blanco from Valencia in Spain. At Wines Direct we look for wines that balance Viognier's richness with freshness.