The hot weather last week had me switching from red wines to chilled whites, kept in an ice bucket next to my patio chair so I could while away the weekend in isolation without even getting out of the chair.
Digging into the musty corners of the wine cellar, I found a few bottles of Chenin Blanc that I had picked up last year on a visit to the Okanagan Valley, which were perfect wines for a hot summer day.
For those not in the know, Chenin Blanc is a white wine grape with a long history, dating back to the 9th century in the Loire Valley of France, and has been experiencing a resurgence in popularity over the last few decades.
Even the most novice of wine drinkers will likely recognize the Loire Valley of France as the wellspring of many of the noble grape varietals, and home to some of the most highly regarded wines worldwide.
Chenin Blanc has been making outstanding wines for centuries, and is even a genetic ancestor to the more well-known Sauvignon Blanc grape.
As the wine snobs say, the Chenin Blanc grape is very expressive of terroir. No, that doesn’t mean that the grape shrieks in fear when picked. Rather, it means that the taste of the wine is very dependent on the climate and soil conditions in the vineyard.
When grown in a cool climate such as the Loire Valley, Chenin Blanc tends to have crisp acidity, floral aromas, and an herbaceous mouth feel. Contrast that to a hot climate such as South Africa, and the wine will be less acidic and much more fruit-forward.
This makes Chenin Blanc a very versatile grape, able to produce either dry or sweet wines, sparkling wines, and even fortified wines.
While France is the historical home of the Chenin Blanc grape, it has done very well in the New World, and is now the most commonly planted grape in South Africa, where it has flourished since being introduced in 1655.
While Chenin Blanc does very well on its own, its versatility leads many winemakers to blend it with other grape varietals to jazz up the flavor of a bulk wine to make it more appealing.
California winegrowers will often use excessive irrigation to produce very high yields of Chardonnay. This produces a very inexpensive and boring wine, which is then blended with relatively small amounts of Chenin Blanc to make it more palatable and command a higher price on the market.
This has lead to Chenin Blanc being referred to as the most popular grape that no one has heard of, because it is blended with so many other grape varietals to liven them up.
Here in Canada, we have been growing Chenin Blanc since the 1960s, although mostly as a blending component for other wines. Adventurous vintners started bottling Chenin Blanc as a single bottle varietal around the turn of the millennium, and it has been quietly gathering accolades and popularity ever since.
One of my favourites is from Road 13 Vineyards in the Okanagan Valley of BC, and I have visited their winery many times over the years. Road 13 was one of the pioneers, planting their Chenin Blanc vines back in 1968, and some of those old vines are still producing fruit to this very day!
The oldest vines at Road 13 have smaller yields per acre, but tend to produce more aromatic and complex grapes, which is naturally reflected in the price, so I only drink their $40 premium Chenin Blanc on special occasions. Fortunately, there is a $23 daily drinker Chenin Blanc from vines planted in 2013 that is perfect for hot summer days on the patio, with tropical fruit aromas on the nose, followed by peach and other stonefruit notes on the palate.
Another shining example of Chenin Blanc from the Okanagan comes from the Quails Gate winery near Kelowna, who also offer two tiers of Chenin Blanc wines, an old vines varietal weighing at $40, and a daily drinker priced at $25. Plenty of stone fruit on the tongue, with a slate minerality in the finish due to the unique soils at the vineyard, I have been a fan for many years.
Take a pass on that boring old Chardonnay at your local wine shop and try a Chenin Blanc today!
So, the next time you are in the mood for a white wine, reach past that tired old Chardonnay on the shelf and try out a Chenin Blanc.
