Catie's Corner Vineyard
Russian River Valley.
Tastes of traditional apricot
fruit and wildflower nose.

2002 Viognier

Catie's Corner Vineyard
Russian River Valley

Like our 2001, our 2002 Viognier was produced from grapes grown on Catie's Corner Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, which is a vineyard developed by Sara Lee Kunde (Catie is Sara Lee’s daughter).

While difficult to pronounce, Viognier (V-Own-Yeah) is an enjoyable white wine whose grapes have their origin in the Rhone Valley Appellations of Condrieu and Chateau Grillet. Viognier is 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 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 2002
483 cases produced

2002 Vintage

• Best of Class and Gold Medal—Press Democrat North of the Gate Wine Competition, April 2004
• Gold Medal—Sonoma County Harvest Fair, September 2003
• Silver Medal—San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, January 2004
• Silver Medal—Florida State Fair Wine Competition, February 2004
• Silver Medal—Grand Harvest Awards, February 2004

2001 Vintage

• Silver Medal—San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, February 2003
• Silver Medal—Grand Harvest Awards, February 2003
• Silver Medal—Long Beach Grand Cru, June 2003

2000 Vintage

• Gold Medal—Grand Harvest Awards, 2002 (top 7% of all wines tasted)