Viognier, a Great & Rare Rhone Grape, Perfected by Australia’s Oldest Family Winery

Viognier has long been considered one of the great grapes of France’s Rhone Valley. Less than a decade ago, this variety was considered one of the wine world’s rarest, but most intriguing varieties. In fact, outside of the Rhône, Viognier was virtually unknown to the rest of the world’s vineyards until more recently. Now, Viognier is arguably the most en-vogue white varietal tease show in California today and it is one of California’s most expensive wine crops.

The Yalumba Winery is the source of Australia’s first commercial Viognier plantings from back in 1980 long before there was the same level of interest as today.   Yalumba continues to be the largest mature Viognier resource in addition to being Australia’s oldest family winery. Yalumba was founded in 1849 by Samuel Smith a British migrant and English brewer.  After buying 30 acres of land, Smith and his son began planting the first vines by moonlight. Samuel named his patch “Yalumba” an aboriginal word for “all the land around”. Six generations and more than 150 years later, Yalumba is doing the world a great kindness with their work in Viognier.

A Rare and Vibrant Treat in Viognier

(more…)