Editing Viognier (section)

===France===
[[File:Nord Sud Viognier 2008.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A Viognier Vin de Pays d'Oc from Languedoc]]
In France, Viognier is the single permitted grape variety in the Rhône appellations of [[Condrieu AOC|Condrieu]] and [[Château-Grillet AOC|Château Grillet]], which are located on the west bank of the [[Rhône]], about 40&nbsp;km south of [[Lyon]].  In the rest of the [[Rhône wine region]] whites, the grape is often blended with [[Roussanne]], [[Marsanne]], [[Grenache blanc]], and [[Rolle (grape)|Rolle]]. In the Northern Rhône, the grape is sometimes blended with [[Chardonnay]].<ref name="Robinson pg 754"/> In the [[Côte-Rôtie AOC]], red wine blends can include up to 20% of Viognier though most growers add no more than 5%. Since Viognier ripens earlier than [[Syrah]], the grape is normally harvested separately and added to the Syrah during [[fermentation (wine)|fermentation]]. One of the benefits of adding Viognier is that the process of co-[[pigmentation]] stabilizes the coloring of the red wine.<ref name="Clarke pg 280">O. Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 280 Harcourt Books 2001 {{ISBN|0-15-100714-4}}</ref>

[[Vignerons]] in the rest of France often look to plant Viognier in areas rich in [[granite]] soil that have a heat retaining quality that the grape seems to thrive in.<ref name="Clarke pg 278"/> [[Beaujolais wine]]maker [[Georges Duboeuf]] helped expand the reach of the grape with plantings in the [[Ardèche]] region.<ref name="Clarke pg 276">O. Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 276 Harcourt Books 2001 {{ISBN|0-15-100714-4}}</ref> The majority of French Viogniers are now grown in the [[Languedoc]] and sold as ''[[Vin de Pays]]''.