Cono Sur Bicycle 2008 Viognier

I spent the past week in Austin, Texas with Meg and Monica. The second night in town, we decided to cook dinner and go out dancing on 6th Street. Meg cooked up some chicken in a wine sauce, Mon made mac and cheese, and I sauteed some rainbow chard. Mon and I picked up this Viognier for $7.99 at the flagship Whole Foods while Meg was at work that day.

I was really excited to find this, because in DC I rarely see Viognier under $15. The Cono Sur wineries are spread throughout Chile and produce just about every varietal you can think of. They are particularly devoted to organic and sustainable agriculture, taking measures like using lightweight bottles to reduce CO2 created by glass production. Hence the environmentally friendly bicycle on the label. This Viognier is grown in Colchuaga Valley and aged between two to ten months in stainless steel.

Viognier is probably my favorite white wine. Although it's been getting more popular recently, generally Viognier is a rarer varietal. This is probably because it's relatively hard to grow; something about the grape attracts the powdery mildew fungus, fruit yield is low, and the wine can be ruined if it's not harvested at just the right time. There are two different kinds of Viognier - old and new world. I'm not sure which is which or what the difference is, though. Virginia actually grows a bit of Viognier, which I would drink more of if it weren't so expensive.

The Cono Sur was pretty good. It tasted fruity up front, like pineapples and sweet green grapes, but a bit acidic on the way down. One of the best things about Viognier is that it has all the thick fruit and roundness of a sweet white wine without the heavy syrup (like you would get from a Riesling or Gewurtztraminer). This one was a little too tart at the finish, but it was still yummy. The girls both gave their stamp of approval, too. Meg used a bit in the chicken dish she made, which turned out really well. I might buy it again, but only because it'd be hard to find another Viognier at that price.