Three Amigos...Two Viogniers (Session 9 - 31st January 2009)

With Sparking water today we sampled:

2007 Chenin Blanc, Morgenhof Estate, Stellenbosch, South Africa

2007 Viognier “Villavieja”, La Agrícola, Mendoza, Argentina

2007 Maria Gomes, Luis Pato, Bairrada, Portugal

2007 Viognier, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes, Domaine Yves Cuilleron

The presence of two Viogniers, both Old and New world, offered us a great opportunity to start answering some questions - such as whether it is the grape variety, or the terroir (and other factors) that determine the pairing with waters. The answer was more indicative of grape variety, but there were key discrepancies. For instance, there were three instances in which there was a recommendation with one wine, but not the other. In one instance, where there was an old world recommendation, the new world wine was deemed to have been harmed by the same water.

Hmm, curious and a little frustrating as it would have been lovely to have drawn a line under it and said "wow, it is simply the grape variety that matters!", but then, wine is a little more complicated than that isn't it...

Having said that, there are instances in which the same water has been recommended with both wines, so I think that this may prove to be the key. If we can find waters that consistently pair well with certain grape varieties, then not only will we be able to incorporate these into wine menus with a high degree of accuracy, but from a scientific perspective, we shall be able to understand which key combination in minerals is necessary for consistent wine-specific matching.