What Is Chenin Blanc?

Chenin Blanc is a multi-purpose white-wine grape cultivated throughout the Loire Valley in France and all over the world

. It produces wine in an assortment of styles, ranging from fairly dry white-wines to some of the best sweet/dessert wines around.

Within the Loire Valley, wines produced from Chenin Blanc grapes are typically labelled with the style: Vouvray. This wine varietal is regularly referred to as a chameleon, because of the numerous different types of body (flavours) it may and can possess. Vouvray inclines towards the sweet side of things, with most working best as an aperitif or as a pairing with a sweet dish. This doesnt mean that sweetness is the only quality/characteristic one will find from Chenin Blanc, even within the Loire Valley. Nevertheless, there are various examples of drier whites made from this grape varietal, in addition to some excellent sparkling wines.

Chenin Blanc is one of those white grape varieties that seem to produce wines built to last for ages. Even though many Chenin Blanc wines are quite bland, at their best they contend with the best of ANY wine varietal. The majority of the top Chenin Blanc wines start young, with an acidity that opposes the sweetness waiting to develop. As these wines mature, they acquire a full, honey body that is incomparable to any other wine varietal. A decent Chenin Blanc can continue improving for over ten years, and can apparently also last forever.

Seldom does one see as radical a variance in character between growing regions as with the Chenin Blanc varietal. Comparing the wines of the Loire Valley (France) to those employing the Chenin Blanc grape elsewhere on earth, is almost like comparing two totally different types of wine. For instance, Chenin Blanc is the most grown grape in South Africa -a country well-known for its wine making, but unlike the Loire Valley/French Chenin Blancs, those from South Africa do not mature to have the same complexities of character or to last nearly as long. On the whole, South African Chenin Blancs are slightly lighter and more acidic, but still VERY palatable wines.

In the USA (California), the wines made from Chenin Blanc grapes are inclined to be mass-produced for widespread consumption, and are noticeably more neutral in character and tone than the Loire Valley wines. Most of this has to do with the amount of yield the vines are pushed to crop, with Californian Chenin Blanc yielding many times the grapes as those in the Loire Valley (France). It is uncommon for Chenin Blanc to be blended with any other grape varietals, particularly in its sweeter manifestations. In the case where it is mixed with another grape, it tends to be combined with either Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, both of which complement Chenin Blancs acidity levels.

Pairing with Food

Main Food Pairing Rule: Matching the alcohol level and body of the wine to the heaviness of the food should make for a proper pairing every time.

Chenin Blanc can be very versatile to pair with food. However, due to the wide range of styles of wine that can be produced from this one grape, some thought needs to go into the final choice. Lighter and drier styles of wine can be paired well with light dishes such as fish, chicken and salads. Sweeter styles of Chenin Blanc can balance the spice and heat of some Hispanic and Asian dishes. The acidity and balance of medium-dry styles can be paired well with dishes that contain cream sauces and rich dishes like pt.

by: Bvz

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