May 4, 2017

Breitenbach Viognier

I picked up this bottle the last time I was in Ohio.  This one comes out of Amish Country, Dover. 

I’m very familiar with Lake Erie wines.  They were the first ones I drank and they still hold a (very) sweet spot in my heart.  Most Ohio wines, no matter the varietal, have a distinct flavor.  If you’ve ever had 100% pure, not from concentrate, Welch’s white grape juice, you’ll know the flavor.  Heavy, a little tart, and a lot of sugar.

But when I saw Viognier on the bottle I got very excited.  This wine is from middle Ohio, so maybe it’s drier.

Side note – there are some Ohio wineries developing dry wines.  They’re in their infancy.  But it’s coming.  Mon Ami brought in an amazing Italian wine maker.  Their red, Himeros, is to die for.  Chateau Tebeau, a small family winery, is also developing some fledgling dries.  Wait for it.  The wine age of Ohio is coming.

This one is better after a day uncorked.  I opened it, almost couldn’t stomach the sweetness, and set it on the shelf. 

Then I realized I’m leaving in the morning for Nashville and had to write a blog.  Not someone to waste a good (or bad) bottle of wine, I pulled this one out of the cooler and tried again.

After twenty-four hours it’s much more palatable.  But not anything like a Viognier I know.  It’s still too sweet and too heavy from those cold weather grapes.  However, after sitting, it works great with potato chips and popcorn. 

Give Ohio a few years and I think you’re going to see some amazing wine.  There’s a great wine festival each year east of Cleveland called the Vintage Ohio Wine Festival.  Maybe I’ll make it up there one year!