John T.,

Actually, we probably drink more whites, than reds, especially in the Summer, here in the High Sonoran Desert.

We love Chenin Blancs, and especially from the Loire. Vouvray is one of the top Sub-regions. Though I do not know that producer, I would suspect that it's in the upper-tier of Chenin Blancs.

Unfortunately, many US producers found that Chenin Blanc could be grown in many sub-prime areas here. They overplanted, over-cropped and produced billions of gallons of mediocre (at best) wines from that grape. It gave Chenin Blanc a very bad (but deserved in their hands) reputation, and it was soon shunned by most serious wine drinkers, both here and abroad. Luckily, the producers in the Loire did not fall for the techniques employed by those greedy US producers, and kept up their standards. Still, the "bad taste" for Chenin Blanc remained for too many - like the disdain for any "pink wine."

If you get an opportunity, also try the Pine Ridge (Napa, CA) Chenin Blanc - Viognier. This was a project by Nancy Andres, back when she and Gary owned Pine Ridge. Luckily, when she sold the winery, the new owners kept that wine in the portfolio. It's not quite so nice, as when Nancy made it, but still a great, light, crisp Summer wine, and is very fairly priced. Here, we find it for ~ US$ 9, without any discounts. Costco has it sometimes, at about US$ 7, and THAT is a great deal. It has more "berry sweetness," that most Vouvrays, and also a more "floral note," from the Viognier. If you can find it, give it a try. I would put just a touch more chill on it, than I would most Vouvrays, or any Chardonnays.

Good luck, and thank you for the rec. for this Vouvray. We have Total Wine all around, and will pick some up.

Appreciated,

Hunt

John T.,

Looks like the company that bought Pine Ridge (can't remember who, off hand) decided to bump the price up a bit, or Total Wine did that. Now, I get offers of discounts (up to 20% for an entire purchase sometimes) from Total Wine, I would just wait and see what happens with your mail.

My closest Costco (they have scaled back their wine offerings a bit, but are still closer than the Scottsdale store) has the Chenin Blanc-Viognier sporadically.

However, they just surprised me yesterday, with about 6 decent red Burgs. I bought 2x each. I was not familiar with any of the producers (Burgundy is a real patchwork quilt of producers), I did know the vineyards, and that is important. We'll see how things go. They were all from the problem 2010 vintage, but many winemakers still did a great job, with hail damage coming 3x in the last few weeks. Even poor vintages can yield really good wines, in the right hands.

If I see something on the Pine Ridge, I will let you know. In the meantime, will look for that Vouvray.

Thanks,

Hunt

You guys across the pond not only get your Creative Cloud cheaper than we poor benighted Limeys, but you darn well get your European wine cheaper too!  That wine of John T.'s would cost me £8 (even up to £10) per bottle.  The exchange rate is within a smidgin' of $1.50 to the pound at the moment, so that is $12 to you guys!!

Tain't fair!

Not that I would buy French wine anyway. I stick to Marlborough for white, and would stick to Central Otago for red, if only I could afford it!  Mostly it is either Spain or Chile.

Bill,

Viognier is one of my favorite white wines. Not much it is grown stateside, however. Here is a list of the wineries that make the wine: http://www.gayot.com/wine/varietals/best-viognier.html

Cheers,

Kevin

Alan,

In my forays to London, I find that most FR wines there, are cheaper, than here (AZ, USA), plus the selection is much greater. Even figuring in the "London surcharge," I often find Montrachets, etc., that are a good £5/btl., than the same stateside. I am surprised that this Vouvray is cheaper here, than in the UK. I would guess that the distributor and importer were dumping this wine, and maybe even at a loss. Do not have data on the recent vintages in the Loire, but know that they had some of the same problems, as hit Burgundy. Still, a Loire Vouvray, should be a lovely wine, even if not one of the best vintages. Because I appreciate the Chenin Blanc grape, when well-made into wine (most of the Loire does this), I always want to sample and also use them to turn others onto the grape. In the US, there are very few worthwhile examples, so I understand why so many shy from CB. I would too.

Now, what is a horrible shame, is that good US wines are so very expensive in the UK, and from my studies, the UK sees very few good ones - just astoundingly high-priced mediocre (that is being very generous) ones. The same can be said for the better OZ wines (lots of OZ plonk, but not THAT many really good ones), which seem to receive a major markup.

When we host our UK board, I often get asked why I do not select and US wines for the dinners. The reason is that those available (very few exceptions here), are not wines that I would drink, and are so highly-priced, that I can get us many greater values by sticking to FR, GR and IT. When we hosted them in the US in April, I DID include some very good US wines with our dinners, and those were all well-received. I just cannot get them in the UK. I understand why the residents of the UK think that US wine is poor - that is all they see, and have to pay a major premium for that "experience."

As for the NZ Sauvignon Blancs, while I enjoy them greatly, I do so more as "sippers," since the heavy grapefruit notes are harder to pair with most foods. My wife doesn't even appreciate most as sippers, but then she hates grapefruit and damp hay...

I keep trying the various NZ Pinots, but have not found any, that really did much for me. In AZ, we do not see many, and even in San Francisco, I see but a few more. I assume that the examples, that I have tried, have been at the low-end of their specturm, since many rave about the Otago PN's. I will just keep looking, as I am sure that they are out there. Any particular ones that you recommend?

Thanks,

Hunt

Kevin,

Thank you for that list. I am familiar with several, like Jos. Phelps and John Alban, but others were new to me, and give me some options, as we love well-made Viognier too.

Just spent a week with John Alban, and had two of his Viogniers, at his Hospice du Rhône event, at Blackberry Farm. Oh, he also provided dozens of bottles of his other Rhône varietal wines too, plus several dozen from two other US Rhône-style producers, and then dozens from two winemakers from the Rhône - one Northern and one Southern. Great event, with tons of fabulous wines!

One producer, who I did not see represented was Gregory Graham, Napa. I hope that he has not quit producing Viogniers, as his were some of the best US examples. Those wines were tough to find, but when I did, I always bought a case. I just saw two bottles in the cellar, but fear that they are my last.

Unfortunately, with the distribution to AZ (even from CA), we do not see much Viognier. For instance, while Jos. Phelps is pretty well-represented here, we can only get his Viognier (and his Marsanne/Roussane, and his Ovation Chardonnay) in California. When I drive up to San Francisco, I usually bring back one case of each of those from Phelps. I found that my Landcruiser can hold 13 styro-shippers, if I drop my wife off at her corporate office, and she flies home. I just drive very carefully, as I do not wish to get stopped with 13 cases of wine in my truck, even if it's all legal. Only an 11 hour drive, with only the traffic outside of LA to contend with. I need to do that trip again, but think that my new Landcruiser will hold less, since the third-row seats only fold up and store to the side, and cannot be removed, like the old unit.

We are blessed to actually have one winery in AZ (down south around Elgin) that produces a very good Viognier, Dos Cabazas. Unfortunately, their Viognier is tough to find, even in AZ, so it will probably not be seen often, outside the state.

Personally, I feel that Viognier is like Chardonnay - one needs to spend the $ for the good ones. I have tried several US Viogniers, that just do not cut it, but their prices reflected that - I was just hoping.

Last, VA is starting to produce some Viognier, as is TX. I have not found any of those, but several are getting some very good reviews. As the Big Bend area of TX is not unlike the vineyards in south AZ, I can see how they might have some good ones, at least in the right hands. Maybe even more contenders?

Thanks,

Hunt

For anyone interested in that Blackberry Farm Hospice du Rhône event, here are the details:

For lovers of Rhône varietals, this is a real "celebration," and we were glad that we were finally able to attend, having missed it for the previous three years, being in London, when it was held.

Hunt

A K-9 Honor Guard for Bear the Police Dog

Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

Bear, who was injured while aiding in an arrest last week, was greeted by a line of four-footed colleagues at his release on Wednesday from Animal Medical Center in Manhattan.

 

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A toast to the doggies !  Keep up the good work !

( and I hope when they get home they have lots of milkbones to eat )