Viognier Grape variety guide: history, French regions, taste & food pairing
Viognier is a lush, highly perfumed white grape from France's northern Rhône Valley, famed for the rare and luxurious wines of Condrieu and for adding fragrance to Côte-Rôtie reds.
Learn more about Viognier
History & origins
Viognier has been grown on the steep granite terraces around Condrieu for centuries; legends credit the Romans with bringing it to the Rhône. It is a demanding vine with low, irregular yields, and by the mid-1960s only about 14 hectares remained, almost all in Condrieu. A revival from the 1980s spread it across the Languedoc, California and Australia.
French regions & appellations
Condrieu AOC and Château-Grillet AOC; blended into Côte-Rôtie (up to 20%); also Côtes du Rhône, IGP Collines Rhodaniennes and IGP Pays d'Oc.
Taste profile
Full-bodied and silky with moderate acidity, bursting with apricot, ripe peach, tangerine, honeysuckle, violet and a hint of ginger spice.
Food pairing
Lobster and crab, scallops in butter, roast chicken with apricots, pork tenderloin, Thai green curry, Moroccan tagine and creamy cheeses such as Saint-Marcellin.
Where Viognier grows in France
Wine regions: Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, Rhône
Appellations: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Condrieu, Côte Rôtie, Côteaux d'Enserune, Côtes du Rhône Villages, Côtes du Rhône, IGP Ardèche, IGP Cité de Carcassonne, iGP Collines Rhodaniennes, IGP Méditerranée, IGP Pays d'Hérault, IGP Pays d'Oc, IGP Terres du Midi, Saint-Guilhem Le Desert