Viognier is a textural white wine that can go toe-to-toe with most reds. With naturally low acidity, softness, richness and white tannins that create balance, most winemakers will tell you viognier is yet to meet a food it doesn't like – it's the perfect food wine. Celebrate International Viognier Day on the last Friday in April with one of the five wines below.
2021 Inkwell Tangerine Viognier
Grown organically, the 2021 Inkwell Tangerine Viognier is made in a fresh, extended skin-contact style. Ginger and bergamot intertwine effortlessly with white stone fruit flavours in this finely textured wine. Fermented wild, with elevage taking place in larger format french oak and stainless steel for six months prior to bottling.Winemakers Irina Santiago-Brown and Dudley Brown say: “The texture of skin-contact viognier is as close to red wine as you'll get, but the flavour profile and freshness is all in the white wine wheelhouse.
H. What do you love about viognier?
I&D. We love viognier because it’s one of the most textural and aromatic white varieties. If grown well and picked on the earlier end of its ripeness spectrum, the combination of texture, complex flavours and natural acidity can allow for a surprising level of versatility in style.
H. How is viognier best enjoyed?
I&D. We think viognier is a wildly versatile food companion for hard to match dishes – particularly spicy, salty and fatty ones. Thai, Indian, sashimi with wasabi, spicy Chinese food, pork belly, potato chips (especially chilli flavoured!) and popcorn.
RRP $30 | Drink to 2028 | inkwellwines.com
2020 Sevenhill Spire’s Lament Viognier
Deep straw in colour. Apricot and rockmelon fruit aromas with barrel ferment characters of marzipan and toasted granola. The palate is full, soft and rounded with a textured sweetness.Winemaker Will Shields says: "Serve Spire’s Lament at around 15–16 degrees, if it's too cold you'll miss out on the feel of the wine. It's not a thirst quencher – a glass of viognier is to be savoured."
H. What do you love about viognier?
W. Viognier is very robust in the winery. It handles some oxidation, solids and high temperature ferments without losing its primary aromatics, which creates wines that are aromatically and texturally complex.
H. How is viognier best enjoyed?
W. Big wide-bowled glasses work well, just like you would use for chardonnay or pinot noir. Viognier goes exceptionally well with quality pork dishes.
RRP $45 | Drink to 2028 | sevenhill.com.au
2019 Soumah Single Vineyard Viognier
Hints of praline, probably derived from the oak, as well as ‘liqueur de poire’ and stone fruit on the nose. The palate is still restrained, with gentle apricot, ripe pear, and peach, balanced beautifully with soft acidity and very creamy, textural notes. There is terrific harmony, with fruit, oak, and acid, all contributing to drinking pleasure.Winemaker Scott McCarthy says: “The harvest timing for viognier is critical, so we focus on that and let the wine evolve by itself in the winery. We press the juice into a barrel and let the wild yeast take care of the rest. A little secret, we use a special barrel from a small artisan cooperage in Burgundy that fits viognier like a glove.”
H. What do you love about viognier?
S. Perhaps it's the challenge of this fickle grape that we fondly refer to as Goldie Lox. She must be picked just right. If picked too late we lose structure, and if picked too early we are left with no apricots. Known for its rapid ripening, we have less than a 24-hour window to get it just right.
H. How is viognier best enjoyed?
S. We suggest pairing Soumah Single Vineyard Viognier (serve in a burgundy goblet to trap the wonderful stone fruit flavours) with lighter proteins such as roast pork. Pro tip: hold the apple sauce and just use viognier.
RRP $35 | Drink to 2027 | soumah.com.au
2020 Yarra Yering Carrodus Viognier
Fresh white nectarine delivers the weight and flavour, hints of lemon citrus bring an acid twist to drive the back palate and keep the weight in check. A chalky texture and some oak tannin from barrel maturation carrying the flavour to a long, lingering finish.Winemaker Sarah Crowe says: "Viognier screams opulence and decadence to me."
H. What do you love about viognier?
S. It is such an individual expression of wine that it's hard to confuse with any other. The florals, palate weight, and texture give the game away.
H. How is viognier best enjoyed?
S. I start with it super chilled, a wine will always warm up in your glass and this gives you the opportunity to watch the wine unfurl with time. You can work out the sweet spot for this particular wine. When it comes to food, think rich, buttery seafood such as shellfish and scallops – but if you don’t have a lobster budget, it pairs equally well with a succulent roast chicken.
RRP $160 | Drink to 2027 | yarrayering.com
2019 Yeringberg Viognier
A wine of opulence and generosity, balanced with freshness and vitality. Intense aromas of mango, apricot, candied ginger, and an almost hedonistic palate with its unctuous, pulpy, apricot generosity. It finishes on a note of savoury restraint with neatly pitched phenolics and lifted, gently honeyed length.Winemaker Sandra de Pury says: "Viognier is the perfect white wine for winter."
H. What do you love about viognier?
S. It’s like no other wine, the best examples are instantly recognisable for their intense exotic and apricot aromas. Viognier has a generous silken mouthfeel, balanced with a slight phenolic chewiness.
H. How is viognier best enjoyed?
S. Viognier is delicious with roast chicken, but equally at home with spicy foods and Middle Eastern cuisine. We serve it slightly chilled (at about 10–12 degrees) because it's a full-bodied wine, but not so cold that the aromas are flattened.
RRP $45 | Drink to 2025 | yeringberg.com.au
This article was produced by Halliday Wine Companion in partnership with the featured wineries.
