Why California is latching on to France’s lesser-known white wine grape varietals
This grenache blanc-viognier blend from California has the heft of chardonnay, with suggestions of honey-poached pears, green apple, and banana.
Only one in 10 wines made in France’s Rhône Valley are white, so most California wines made with Rhône grapes are similarly red or rosé wines using grapes like Syrah or Grenache noir. But since all Rhône grapes are quite well suited to California’s warm and dry climate, white wines made with Rhône grape varieties are becoming more common.
Most of the wine grape varieties grown in California are of French origin, with the best known tracing their roots to one of France’s two most famous wine regions. Cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon blanc, and merlot come from Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast, for example, while chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot gris are grapes from further north in Burgundy. These grapes were originally prioritized by quality-minded American vintners because French Burgundy and Bordeaux had topped the wine charts for centuries.
Though lesser known and less varied in its output, the Rhône Valley — in the country’s southeast, closer to its border with Switzerland — has been making some amazing wines for almost as long, with names that evoke Catholicism, like Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Hérmitage. The Rhône is warmer and drier than either Bordeaux or Burgundy, so its climate is a closer match to what California vintners experience.
The first varietal to turn heads with the quality of its white wines was the hyper-aromatic viognier grape, native to the northern Rhône. But today’s growers are discovering the less flashy Grenache blanc grape, which dominates the whites of the southern Rhône — and this blend from California’s San Luis Obispo County. Here, two parts Grenache blanc is blended with one part viognier, and supplemented with two other Rhône whites, Marsanne and clairette, that bring suggestions of banana and green apple respectively into a surprisingly seamless whole. Both Grenache blanc and viognier grapes make full-bodied white wines that can rival the palate heft and creaminess of chardonnay. And where viognier wines are effusively floral and moscato-like in scent, Grenache blanc has a far more subtle flavor profile with flavors of honey-poached pears.
Hearst Ranch “Three Sisters Cuvée” White Blend
Paso Robles, Calif.; 14.4% ABV
PLCB Item #100041488, $22.99 sale price through Oct. 5 (regularly $24.99).
No alternative retail locations within 50 miles of Philadelphia, according to Wine-Searcher.com.