What type of wine is chenin blanc

Rabelais mentions it both as Chenin and by its common Loire synonym Pineau. The wine it produces is notably high in acidity, which can be quite useful in a warm climate but can verge on the painful in the Loire's coolest vintages. In fact the one brake on Loire Chenin's reputation has been the sometimes dire quality of Chenin produced when the grapes just haven't ripened sufficiently to coax the unique Chenin flavours of flowers, damp straw and honey into the resulting wine, leaving little but acid and sulphur in the bottle.

Thanks to global warming, disastrous vintages are becoming a rarity in the Loire, and growers are, thank goodness, using less and less sulphur to stabilise these often off-dry to medium-sweet wines. A truly great Chenin Blanc is typically a Moelleux, the product of a hazy autumn on the schists of the Loire which encourages noble rot and results in a toasty golden wine that has all of the complexity of any botrytised wine but with the Chenin grapes' particular layers of molten honey and crisp, dancing acidity.

Beware, however. For the moment French law is much more lax than German and the sweetness in some producers' Moelleux wines can owe more to cunning winemaking than genuine noble rot concentration. Bonnezeaux, Coteaux de l'Aubance, Coteaux du Layon, Montlouis, Quarts de Chaume and, especially, Vouvray are all likely appellations for such wines, with Vouvray and Quarts de Chaume producing some of the most intense examples. This is in fact a magnum 1. Have you tried an aged Chenin Blanc from the Swan Valley?

If not you should! Leave a comment below! Casey started Travelling Corkscrew in and has been wine blogging ever since. I definitely know the type of pandemonium I like in my life, and that comes in the form of a wine bottle.

Today I want to introduce you to The Verrine, the demon of impatience. Maybe that is…. I also very…. This Tripe. This beauty is a sample from Good Pair Days thank you! He brought a Chenin vine from France in and planted it at his home vineyard.

Initially, producers primarily used Chenin Blanc to make brandy , but that changed in the late twentieth century when South Africa started coming into its own as a well respected wine region. Winemakers began experimenting with the grape and were able to create a dry, zesty, crisp wine that is very similar to Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.

It was a hit and South African quickly became the largest producer of Chenin Blanc across the globe. The inherent acidity in Chenin Blanc makes it an all-around great choice to pair with food. Yet, the wide range of styles should be taken into account when picking the perfect dish. A distinguished site is pure potential — but there are usually several possibilities, not just one, for realising that potential.

Grapevine trunk diseases are a growing concern for French winemakers with the latest government figures showing more than , hectares of vineyard lost in Fiona Beckett meets him to find out. One of California's oldest Chenin Blanc vineyards has been listed by the state's Historic Vineyard Society, as part of efforts to preserve the region's winemaking heritage. The versatile Chenin Blanc's pretensions to classic grape status are mainly realised in the Loire Valley, where its floral aroma, apple and pear-like flavour and acidity contribute to long-lived dry styles and luscious sweet whites around Bonnezeaux, Quarts de Chaume, Vouvray and Layon, and, on occasions, full-flavoured sparkling wines.