Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier 2016

Chenin Blanc grapes originate in the Loire Valley in north central France and Viognier grapes originate in the Rhone Valley of southern France. Therefore you will never find the two grapes blended together in a bottle of French wine. In the new world, we are not bound by the same traditions and regulations and in the early 1990's, Pine Ridge Vineyards experimented with the unusual combination and created one of the most popular wines. There are now other wineries combining these two grapes but Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier remains the most popular and highest rated version. Robert Parker has rated previous releases of this wine at 90 points.

The 2016 Chenin Blanc + Viognier is a blend of 80% Chenin Blanc from the Clarksburg region of California and 20% Viognier from Lodi California. The wine is aged without oak to create a crisp, vibrant wine with 12.5% alcohol.

I tasted melon, pineapple, peach and minerality in this wine. I also sensed a little fizz on my tongue. You can drink this wine without food but I think it would be a great pairing for spicy Thai food. We really enjoyed this wine and plan to include it in our upcoming wine seminar and tasting for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Furman University. Total Wines sells this for $12.49 and using a 15% off coupon, I paid $10.63.

SC Wine Joe does not assign a numerical rating to white wines.

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