Cortese Nosiola Pinot Blanc Sake Viognier Wine
The Cortese white wine grape varietal has been grown in and around south Piedmont, Italy, for at least five hundred years. Its delicate nature and moderate acidity have made it a favorite with people around the world, and it is most commonly served alongside the excellent seafood and shellfish dishes of the part of Italy it is traditionally grown in. Cortese grapes are easily identifiable by their lime and greengage flavors, and their generally delicate and medium bodied character. Cortese wines are also notable for their freshness and crispness, again, making them an ideal match for seafood. Whilst colder years often produce harsher, more acidic Cortese wines, practices such as allowing malolactic fermentation can solve any such problems and still produce delicious white wines made from this varietal.
Pinot Blanc is a popular white grape varietal most commonly associated with the beautiful French region of Alsace, but which is also grown across Central Europe and Italy. In Germany and Austria it is known as Weisseburgunder, in Italy it is called Pinot Bianco, and is one of the key varietals in the alpine regions of Alto Adige. Pinot Blanc is the main white grape varietal in Alsace, where it is prized for its ability to beautifully express the fine terroir on which it is grown, and it is used to produce exceptional single varietal wines, as well as blended wine such as Edelzwicker. Pinot Blanc is also a key component in this part of France’s signature sparkling wine, Cremant d’Alsace.
The wines made from Pinot Blanc are typically medium to light bodied, but they possess a remarkable freshness and clean character, which reminds us of the cool, green hillsides of their homeland. Apple, honey and biscuity, yeasty flavors are typical in fine Pinot Blanc wines, as well as a good level of minerality, making it a popular choice for those looking to pair a fine white wine with a wide range of foods. Although it is almost never oaked in Alsace, Italian vintners have a tendency to age Pinot Bianco in oak barrels, adding an extra dimension to this wonderful varietal.
Although primarily associated with the Rhone region of France, the precise origins of the Viognier grape variety are unknown, and the subject of much debate. However, these fine and delicate green skinned grapes are an important varietal for many of France's most elegant white wines, and they are quickly beginning to spread around the New World, too, where wineries are discovering their unique qualities and unusual character. Viognier grapes are notoriously difficult to grow, due to the fact they are highly susceptible to mildew, but wineries persevere with them nonetheless, producing wines which are highly aromatic and have a great, fruit-forward character. Their delicate aroma suggests sweetness due to its flowery, sappy nature, but the wine itself generally very dry and crisp, and full of summery, light and refined qualities.