Editing Viognier (section)

{{Short description|Variety of grape used to make white wine}}
{{redirect|Vionnier|another French wine grape that is also known as Vionnier|Gouais blanc}}

{{Infobox grape variety
| name = Viognier
| image = Viognier Viala et Vermorel.jpg
| caption = Viognier in Viala & Vermorel
| species = ''[[Vitis vinifera]]''
| color = Blanc
| also_called = Bergeron, Barbin, Rebolot, Greffou, Picotin Blanc, Vionnier, Petiti Vionnier, Viogne, Galopine, Vugava bijela<ref>{{cite web | title=Viognier information | url=http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/datastore/datastoreview/showpage.cfm?usernumber=39&surveynumber=351 | publisher=[[University of California, Davis]] Integrated Viticulture Online | access-date=2008-08-25 | archive-date=2009-02-08 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208215324/http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/datastore/datastoreview/showpage.cfm?usernumber=39&surveynumber=351 | url-status=dead }}</ref> ([[#Synonyms|more]])
| origin = [[Croatia]], [[France]]
| hazards = 
| regions = Worldwide
| notable_wines = 
}}
[[File:Viognier.jpg|thumb|Viognier grapes ripening on the vine in [[Amador county]], California]]

'''Viognier''' ({{IPA|fr|vjɔɲje}}) is a white [[wine]] [[grape variety]]. It is the only permitted grape for the [[French wine]] [[Condrieu AOC|Condrieu]] in the [[Rhone Valley (wine)|Rhône Valley]].<ref name="Robinson pg 754">J. Robinson ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'', Third Edition,  p. 754, Oxford University Press 2006 {{ISBN|0-19-860990-6}}</ref>

Outside of the Rhône, Viognier can be found in regions of North and South America as well as Australia, New Zealand, the Cape Winelands in South Africa, south Moravia region in Czechia, [[Israeli wine|Israel]] and in [[Austrian wine|Austria]] at Weingut Roland Minkowitsch. In some wine regions, the variety is [[co-fermented]] with the red wine grape [[Syrah]] where it can contribute to the [[color (wine)|color]] and [[bouquet (wine)|aroma]] of the wine.<ref name="WSET">Wine & Spirits Education Trust ''Wine and Spirits: Understanding Wine Quality'' pp. 69, Second Revised Edition (2012), London, {{ISBN|9781905819157}}</ref>

Like [[Chardonnay]], Viognier has the potential to produce [[body (wine)|full-bodied]] wines with a lush, soft character. In contrast to Chardonnay, the  Viognier varietal has more natural [[aromatics (wine)|aromatics]] that include notes of peach, pears, violets and [[minerality (wine)|minerality]]. However, these aromatic notes can be easily destroyed by too much exposure to oxygen, which makes [[barrel fermentation]] a winemaking technique that requires a high level of skill on the part of any winemaker working with this variety.

The potential quality of Viognier is also highly dependent on [[viticultural]] practices and climate, with the grape requiring a long, warm [[growing season (wine)|growing season]] in order to fully [[ripen (wine)|ripen]] but not a climate that is so hot that the grape develops high levels of [[sugars (wine)|sugars]] and potential alcohol before its aromatic notes can develop. The grape is naturally a [[yield (wine)|low-yielding]] variety, which can make it a less economically viable planting for some vineyards.<ref name="WSET"/>