2001 Viognier

Catie's Corner Vineyard

Like our 2000, our 2001 Viognier was produced from grapes grown on Catie's Corner Vineyard in the Russian River Valley. This is a vineyard developed by Sara Lee Kunde (Catie being Sara Lee’s 9-year-old daughter).

Viognier (pronounced V-Own-Yeah) is an enjoyable white wine whose grapes have their origin in the Rhone Valley appellations of Condrieu and Chateau Grillet. Viognier, and are also blended with Syrah in producing Cote Rotie wines. Food-friendly, Viognier pairs well with fish, spicy foods, Asian infusions, crab and lobster, or just drink it as an aperitif.

Our Viognier has a complex nose of apricot, peach, pear and wild flowers. The mouth feel is harmoniously balanced between richness and lively acidity. The finish is marked by long-lasting flavors reflecting the fruity and floral aromas.

The grapes were whole berry pressed and then fermented in a stainless steel tank at low temperature (below 65 degrees Fahrenheit) to preserve the varietal aromas. Malolactic fermentation was not encouraged in order to retain the freshness of the fruit. The wine was aged in the tank on the fine lees to build a rich mouth feel and crisp finish.

Recently, there has been an explosion of Viognier plantings in California and Languedoc. Still the availability of this wine is very limited. As Jancis Robinson has said, “Viognier works a magic of its own.”

Harvested September 4, 2001
500 cases produced

2001 Vintage

• Gold Medal—Grand Harvest Awards, Sonoma, February 2003
• Silver Medal—The San Francisco Chronicle Northern California Wine Competition, February 2003
• Silver Medal—Jerry Mead’s New World Wine Competition, March 2003
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2000 Vintage

• Silver Medal—Taster’s Guild International Wine Competition, May 2002
• Silver Medal—New World International Wine Competition, June 2002
• Silver Medal&8212Long Beach Grand Cru, July 2002

1999 Vintage

• Gold and Best of Class—The San Francisco Chronicle Northern California Wine Competition, February 2001
• Gold and Chairman’s Award—Riverside International Wine Competition, May 2001
• About our 1999 Petite Sirah Vintage, Dan Berger in the Dan Berger’s Vintage Experiences, (707-571-1200), Exceptional Wine Column, wrote the following: "Huge fruit with a meaty, faint underbrush note. Despite the massive nature of this wine, it still retains a bit of grace and should age at least a decade. I also liked the winery’s excellent 1999 Syrah."

1998 Vintage

• Gold and Best of Class—Pacific Rim International Wine Competition, 2000 (second year)