Martha Clara Vineyards Viognier 2005
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Serve as an aperitif or with seafood. Complements lobster and crab especially well; fresh fruit.
In 1978, the family agreed to sell the company and move on to greener pastures. For Robert Entenmann this meant a potato farm turned thoroughbred horse farm on the North Fork of Long Island. The neighboring potato farms began to give way to vineyards; it was just a matter of time before he would follow suit
In 1995 Robert caught the grape bug and planted 18acres of vitis vinifera grapes. Over the next four years his vineyard acreage grew to 112 acres as he anxiously waited for the grapes to come of age. Today, daughter Jackie runs the Long Island vineyards home to over a dozen types of classical European varietals.
Full-figured and charmingly floral, Viognier is one of the most important white grapes of the northern Rhône where it is used both to produce single varietal wines and as an important blending grape. Look for great New World examples from California, Oregon, Washington and cooler parts of Australia. Somm Secret—Viognier plays a surprisingly important role in the red wines of Côte Rôtie in the northern Rhône. About 5% Viognier is typically co-fermented with the Syrah in order to stabilize the color, and as an added benefit, add a subtle perfume.
Increasingly garnering widespread and well-deserved attention, New York ranks third in wine production in the United States (after California and Washington). Divided into six AVAs—the Finger Lakes, Lake Erie, Hudson River, Long Island, Champlain Valley of New York and the Niagara Escarpment, which crosses over into Michigan as well as Ontario, Canada—the state experiences varied climates, but in general summers are warm and humid while winters are very cold and can carry the risk of frost well into the growing season.
The Finger Lakes region has long been responsible for some of the country’s finest Riesling, and is gaining traction with elegant, light-bodied Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. Experimentation with cold-hardy European varieties is common, and recent years have seen the successful planting of grapes like Grüner Veltliner and Saperavi (from the Eastern European country of Georgia). Long Island, on the other hand, has a more maritime climate influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, and shares some viticultural characteristics with Bordeaux. Accordingly, the best wines here are made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The Niagara Escarpment is responsible for excellent ice wines, usually made from the hybrid variety, Vidal.