While vacationing with Laurie’s family in the Bahamas, seafood has been a staple on the dinner table. Grouper, salmon, lobster, and conch have all made regular appearances. On islands like these, where almost everything is imported, the wine prices are outrageous – especially for those bottles with recognizable producer names and varietals. One bottle that I have been recommending (with great success) is Viognier. “Exotic” seems to be the word everyone is using to describe this wine. And not for nothing, but it’s looking like this varietal is going to help the family branch out from their regular white: Chardonnay.

Ranging from pale straw to light golden, Viognier’s exotic profile starts with the heady aromatics – honeysuckle, apricot, orange, and spice. The perfumed aroma is not just a tease, as it leads into generous gobs of melon, apricot, and peach on the palate. With its big fruit and relatively low acidity, Viognier pleases most fans of big, buttery, tropical California Chardonnay. Not unlike Gewurztraminer, Viognier tends to be fleshy and viscous in body. And even though it’s shy in the acidity department, the strength of its fruit helps the flavors linger.

Viognier is native to France’s Rhone Valley, where it is the only grape grown in the tiny appellation of Condrieu. Examples from Condrieu tend to be extremely expensive. Fortunately, however, Viognier is an ancient grape enjoying a growing modern escape from obscurity, thanks to plantings in the South of France, California, and Australia. As new vineyards start to bear fruit, prices should drop and more bottlings will appear each vintage.

Viognier is not especially crisp, but still quite nice when paired with simple chicken dishes, pasta with a creamy sauce, heftier fish (like salmon and Chilean sea bass), lobster, and even pork and ham. For those who just like the wine’s generous fruit-basket of flavors and aromas, Viognier is a great sipping wine to enjoy simply by itself.

If you are interested in trying a bottle or two of Viognier, you should be able to find it at your local wine shop. You may even find that producers are blending it with other white wines – sometimes even red wine too! But before we get ahead of ourselves, allow me to suggest some producers you may be able to find in your area. These bottles show good characteristic of Viognier, but won’t break the bank:

• Bridgman Viognier Yakima Valley
• Sobon Estate Viognier Amador County
• Bonterra Vineyards Viognier Mendocino North Coast

Tags: bahamas wine, Bonterra Vineyards Viognier Mendocino North Coast, Bridgman Viognier Yakima Valley, Chardonnay, exotic wine, gewurztraminer, seafood wine, Sobon Estate Viognier Amador County, Viognier