Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Drinking Orchids

2006 Peltier Station Viognier from Lodi really tasted like liquid orchids. We had purchased this white wine a while ago from Bella Vino. We remembered that we were impressed. It was a white wine and cost more than $10. $16.49 to be exact. It did not disappoint. And paired well with my lemon pepper roasted chicken.

I have always had a tumultuous relationship with Viognier. The first time I got a whiff of this grape was at a Virginia wine festival oh so many years ago. And I inhaled a bouquet of flowers. Immediately, I was fascinated and fell in love with the wine's floralness. Alas, the taste of that particular wine did not meet my nasal expectations. What disappointment. I have informally continued my quest for Viognier that tasted as wonderful as it smelled. I'm sure that a Condrieu may satisfy this yearning, but the price of these French bottles are way beyond my means.

And then Peltier Station Viognier came along. The aroma is so floral and so heavenly and the taste - superb! I also liked the heavy weight of the wine. But beware. This lovely white has 14.8% alcohol.

The next time you want to give flowers, consider giving a bottle of this Viognier.

1 comment:

Tugboat said...

Peltier Station? Who sold you that wine? It says right on their website, they use micro-ox and oak chips, to speed up the aging process. How fake is that? Ultra hot fermentation! Not wine, another manufactured science project. Don't give up on Condrieu, it is expensive, maybe overpriced, but some can be life changing. Try George Vernay's wines, plenty of exotic fruit and flowers, white pepper and zing. Have it with scallops and herbed butter cream. Yum...