De Bortoli's Viognier

(De Bortoli's 2008 Viognier: De Bortoli Website)

Last week, ten media representatives, including myself, left for what Tourism Australia calls “Melbourne South East Touring Triangle.” It’s basica

lly a post-Australia Tourism Exchange tour for the media to get familiarized with the area outside the windowless convention center.

Part of the trip is touring the Yarra Valley – a wine region just outside Melbourne with rolling hills and vineyards as far as the eye can see. As you can imagine, we tasted a lot of wine – one of which is one of my new favorites: De Bortoli’s Yarra Valley Estate Grown Viognier.

Now, I’m not very knowledgeable about wine, but the Viognier variety is new to me. Usually mixed with another varietal, De Bortoli’s was a pure Viognier wine that was light, refreshing and smooth with complex lychee and apricot flavors.

(The White Viognier grape on the vine: Wikipedia)

No one quite knows where the Viognier grape originated, but some rumors include originating in ancient Dalmatia and brought into Rhone by Romans or captured by a group of outlaws en route to Beaujolais. Whatever its origin, the grape is now quite rare.

Viogniers are generally crisp and dry with floral aromas and pairs well with spicy food such as Thai or Vietnamese. Go figure.