Inspiration Vineyards Russian River Valley Viognier 4-Pack
$69.99 (Normally $116.00) 40% off List Price
2 2009 Inspiration Vineyards Viognier, Russian River Valley
2 2010 Inspiration Vineyards Viognier, Russian River Valley
CT links above

Winery website

Love Jon's wines. These are a little over the typical amount we pay for whites at home. My wife does love viognier though. Convince me that I need these.

Kyle, if interested this is an easy split.

cortot20 wrote:Love Jon's wines. These are a little over the typical amount we pay for whites at home. My wife does love viognier though. Convince me that I need these.

Kyle, if interested this is an easy split.

Hi Corto, Jon here...
I guess I have several reasons why you should buy these wines:
1 - Great value! This is my most expensive wine I produce. The fruit costs are equiv to RRV Pinot Noir. For the price of this deal, you are saving real $$ from what folks are paying at my winery!
2 - The wine has great structure and can hold up to a huge variety of food, like Venison Chili. Just ask (Iron Chef Contestant) Duskie at ZaZu in Santa Rosa.
3 - Both wines are filtered - translation - no travel issues when they arrive for your enjoyment.

Since 2009, I have really dialed in our white wine programs and all I can say is that both of these wines are worth every penny and are as good as any red wine out there...

Just sayin... ;)

twstdvn wrote:Hi Corto, Jon here...
I guess I have several reasons why you should buy these wines:
1 - Great value! This is my most expensive wine I produce. The fruit costs are equiv to RRV Pinot Noir. For the price of this deal, you are saving real $$ from what folks are paying at my winery!
2 - The wine has great structure and can hold up to a huge variety of food, like Venison Chili. Just ask (Iron Chef Contestant) Duskie at ZaZu in Santa Rosa.
3 - Both wines are filtered - translation - no travel issues when they arrive for your enjoyment.

Since 2009, I have really dialed in our white wine programs and all I can say is that both of these wines are worth every penny and are as good as any red wine out there...

Just sayin... ;)

Thanks for sharing! Bravo!

twstdvn wrote:Hi Corto, Jon here...
I guess I have several reasons why you should buy these wines:
1 - Great value! This is my most expensive wine I produce. The fruit costs are equiv to RRV Pinot Noir. For the price of this deal, you are saving real $$ from what folks are paying at my winery!
2 - The wine has great structure and can hold up to a huge variety of food, like Venison Chili. Just ask (Iron Chef Contestant) Duskie at ZaZu in Santa Rosa.
3 - Both wines are filtered - translation - no travel issues when they arrive for your enjoyment.

Since 2009, I have really dialed in our white wine programs and all I can say is that both of these wines are worth every penny and are as good as any red wine out there...

Just sayin... ;)

Hi Jon,
Good to see you on here again. I haven't had your 2009, but my notes for the 2010 say to buy again, as they usually do for your wines Could you give us an idea of the difference between the two?

Well back to sleep for me, I shouldn't be up at 5am on a Saturday.

Marc

Damn, loved your zin so much, I figured this to be an auto buy.... But looks like you stopped shipping to NH?

I’ve had limited experience with viognier. How does this compare to a SB?

viognier sucks. its all they have in dc.... va vinyards love this stuff and it all tastes bad. imho.

tewkewl wrote:viognier sucks. its all they have in dc.... va vinyards love this stuff and it all tastes bad. imho.

Maybe it's VA not viognier that sucks? Just saying.........

bdlsmoran wrote:I’ve had limited experience with viognier. How does this compare to a SB?

It has a heavier mouth feel. SB is light bodied viognier is medium bodied and has a much more floral component to the nose. SB's can also be very acidic to the point of taking the enamel off of your teeth. In viognier I see apricot/peach thrown around a lot describing the fruit flavor in the wine. Hope that helps.

I also use viognier for white peach sangria, it comes out awesome. Not that I am suggesting that you use today's offer for that, that would be a very expensive sangria.

mschauber wrote:Hi Jon,
Good to see you on here again. I haven't had your 2009, but my notes for the 2010 say to buy again, as they usually do for your wines Could you give us an idea of the difference between the two?

Well back to sleep for me, I shouldn't be up at 5am on a Saturday.

Marc

Hi Marc,
After posting my first comment, I hit the hay...

More pronounced Apricot/Honeysuckle and nutmeg spice for the 2009. Also the weight of the 2009 has more viscosity I believe because the alcohol is 14.9.

The 2010 is crisper, more of a peach vs. apricot comes out - the wine is 13.9 alc, so the weight is different, slightly higher acid allowing it to hold up to heavier food.

tewkewl wrote:viognier sucks. its all they have in dc.... va vinyards love this stuff and it all tastes bad. imho.

I hear what you're saying. I had a woman in yesterday from VA who made the same observation about her experience with VA Viogniers. She left with a bottle of our 2009!

Before I ever had a Condrieu, my first Viognier was from VA. This was over 20 years ago at a restaurant in SF where they had a bottle shop next door. The wine we had with dinner was very well made and I was impressed.

Today however, there are a number of producers in VA who are making their Viognier's like one would make over-ripe, buttery Chardonnay - using new oak - and picking late. We have the same problem in the Central Valley where of few producers pick really late and as a result, these wines lack acid and are just not well structured and end up being very cloying. Add oak & butter and it's could be ABC.

Both of my wines are dry - well balanced - have great aromatics - and are made for food. I'm Inspired by their French parents from the Condrieu.

mursecrna wrote:Damn, loved your zin so much, I figured this to be an auto buy.... But looks like you stopped shipping to NH?

Shoot me an email - let's talk! ;)

bdlsmoran wrote:I’ve had limited experience with viognier. How does this compare to a SB?

Thanks Corto - his response is spot on in many respects.

I would add that our 2009 has much greater weight and viscosity than SB for sure. The 2010 has similar weight and body - but the one thing that Viognir has that SB doesn't is it's floral, honeysuckle nose. SB's tend to either be grassy or tropical - Viognier tends to have more stone fruit qualities.

Hope this helps...
Jon

Hi Jon,
Are these non Malo-Latic wines?

ScottHarveyWines wrote:Hi Jon,
Are these non Malo-Latic wines?

Yes - they should be. I never had them tested, but I never induced either.

I did sterile filter both of these wines to prevent ML from occuring in bottle.

twstdvn wrote:Yes - they should be. I never had them tested, but I never induced either.

I did sterile filter both of these wines to prevent ML from occuring in bottle.

I have a few bottles over the years have what appears to have an effervescence. Is this typically caused by In bottle ML fermentation?

cortot20 wrote:I have a few bottles over the years have what appears to have an effervescence. Is this typically caused by In bottle ML fermentation?

Yes, most likely. Some winemakers also "very-slightly" carbonate their wines at bottling to create this effervescence because it bumps up mouth feel and creates crispness.

I don't - but some do...

tewkewl wrote:viognier sucks. its all they have in dc.... va vinyards love this stuff and it all tastes bad. imho.

The difference is day and night. Jon is not only a very skilled vintner, but he wouldn't put his name on a bottle that was just 'normal' or not well crafted with some complexity. I haven't loved every bottle of his that I've had, but not being a big white fan and never having had a Voignier I liked, was skeptical when I received the 2010 as part of the wine club shipment. I was pleasantly surprised to find it dry and very much to my liking.

Give it a try, if you don't like it, I'll buy the remaining bottles from you, but you'll like it.

Can I say a big THANK YOU to Jon for his amazing participation on the wine today. Now that the labrats have rotted in their traps, winery participation is the difference for me between a buy or not. And thank you for the note on the effervescence, always wondered about that (and don't much care for it). Cheers!

justinacton wrote:Can I say a big THANK YOU to Jon for his amazing participation on the wine today. Now that the labrats have rotted in their traps, winery participation is the difference for me between a buy or not. And thank you for the note on the effervescence, always wondered about that (and don't much care for it). Cheers!

Welcome! I know our 08's (Chard/Pinot) didn't show well for folks because they were unfiltered and unless you allowed them to rest just after shipping your experience with them would not have been very positive.

I'm saying this because I really try to do my best, give the straight scoop about all my wines, and if there are issues, be very frank about them.

Both of these Viognier's are well made and some of the best white wines I've produced.

Thank you very much for your kind support!

Cheers!
Jon

Thank you for the comments. I am really on the fence over this one. My go to white is SB, love the acidity. The only viognier I have tried was a 2009 Freemark Abbey. Found it to be meh, not as much flavor or nose as I had hoped for.

From most of the remarks, this sounds great. But I am still on the fence.

bdlsmoran wrote:Thank you for the comments. I am really on the fence over this one. My go to white is SB, love the acidity. The only viognier I have tried was a 2009 Freemark Abbey. Found it to be meh, not as much flavor or nose as I had hoped for.

From most of the remarks, this sounds great. But I am still on the fence.

If you're not satisfied after trying either one of the 09 or 10, let me know and I'll replace with our SB.

If acid is what you're looking for, the 10 will definitely float your boat. As for aromatics, you won't be disappointed with by the 09! Both wines have great flavors, aromatics and acidity…

I had one of Jon's wines on a 'wine and swine' panel at Rhone Rangers last year, and I believe it was either the 09 or 10 viognier. As he said, it was full of fruit by dry with plenty of great acidity.

I can understand the comments of those who say that they are not big fans of the variety - either am I in all honesty. That's because many winemakers tend to make them in a big, showy, flabby style with high pH's and plenty of new oak that lead to a viscous mouthfeel. This makes the wine enjoyable as a dessert wine most of the time but difficult to pair with food.

Therefore, don't be scared to continue to explore the variety, but just understand what you don't like about it and try to find examples like Jon's that counter that.

Cheers!

Wine woot has certainly had some real winners lately. IMO.

I appreciate the comments that have been made and the support from all of you...

One note - our Viognier was produced in stainless - my Inspiration are French versions. Hence - no oak...

I would LOVE to go in on this!!!! I live in a remote part of VA with no one to help me receive a shipment in my abscence. There is no FedEx facility anywhere near me so a hold is out of the question. Not being able to be sure of the shipping(when the real arrival will take place), I just can't make the purchase. As a retired person, I do alot of traveling so I will have to wait till summer shipping is over and the old shipping method is more reliable. I already posted this on the "shipping-whats the deal" thread.

twstdvn wrote:If you're not satisfied after trying either one of the 09 or 10, let me know and I'll replace with our SB.

If acid is what you're looking for, the 10 will definitely float your boat. As for aromatics, you won't be disappointed with by the 09! Both wines have great flavors, aromatics and acidity…

Thanks Jon, you pushed me over the fence. One last question before I click the big gold button, how long will these wines cellar? I have more “drink now” white than I need and was hoping I could save these for a year or two.

Thanks

I need some convincing (though Im leaning towards going in b/ c of my experience with inspiration zins and jon's participation). Im an SB drinker (more on the tropical fruit forward vein as opposed to gooseberry) and am wondering how viognier compares to reisling. I find resisling overly sweet (even ones considered dry on theat scale) though only had u.s. Made ones ( not german or austrian). Thoughts?

ScottHarveyWines wrote:Hi Jon,
Are these non Malo-Latic wines?

What does malo-lactic, or none, bring to the wine? Thanks

bdlsmoran wrote:Thanks Jon, you pushed me over the fence. One last question before I click the big gold button, how long will these wines cellar? I have more “drink now” white than I need and was hoping I could save these for a year or two.

Thanks

My Viognier's have been holding up really well. The 2009 will probably cellar just fine for the next 12 to 18 months.

The 2010 will easily go the distance and cellar for 3+ years without any trouble. The lower alcohol helps prolong its age.

You just need to start drinking those white wines of your during these warm summer months... ;)

losthighwayz wrote:I need some convincing (though Im leaning towards going in b/ c of my experience with inspiration zins and jon's participation). Im an SB drinker (more on the tropical fruit forward vein as opposed to gooseberry) and am wondering how viognier compares to reisling. I find resisling overly sweet (even ones considered dry on theat scale) though only had u.s. Made ones ( not german or austrian). Thoughts?

Very tough question. I would say without a doubt that the 2010 is right up your alley in terms of dryness and fruit-forwardness combined.

Although the 2009 is dry, I do often campare them to dry rieslings. You certainly can have them in place of one with the same types of food. However, there's no RS, just a lot of stone fruit character.

Regarding your question about ML - wines going through them (almost ALL reds, and some whites) develop a richness as a result. Wines not going through them tend to be crisper and leaner in the mouthfeel. At least that's how I would best describe it...

twstdvn wrote:Very tough question. I would say without a doubt that the 2010 is right up your alley in terms of dryness and fruit-forwardness combined.

Although the 2009 is dry, I do often campare them to dry rieslings. You certainly can have them in place of one with the same types of food. However, there's no RS, just a lot of stone fruit character.

Regarding your question about ML - wines going through them (almost ALL reds, and some whites) develop a richness as a result. Wines not going through them tend to be crisper and leaner in the mouthfeel. At least
that's how I would best describe it...

Thanks for feedback. I assume today is a busy day in Sonoma for wine tasting so appreciate you jumping in! I prefer crisper whites as opposed to viscupus ones. Ive had rousannw and marsanne whites from wellington and i would think they went through malo b /c i did not like them much though i coyld tell were well-made. Am I correct to assume the aforementioned whites went through malo? Im glad to read you only used stainless which is how i like my whire, inluding chards!

Viognier is my favorite white varietal, if I can find them well made; by bringing out the characteristics of the varietal - the floral nose, the flavor of the grape, and some good acidity, and a decent finish.

imho, if you prefer SB that is tropical and has balanced acidity, as opposed to what I call the grapefruit bombs, then this would be a good one to taste. Some vintners go overboard with the oak, which I don't get, unless they have subpar fruit. To me, Viognier's characteristics call for steel fermentation to showcase the nose and taste. Viognier can be one of the most aromatic whites, and why obscure that with oak?

edit: I went in for 2, btw; my first wine.woot purchase in a looooong time.

losthighwayz wrote:Thanks for feedback. I assume today is a busy day in Sonoma for wine tasting so appreciate you jumping in! I prefer crisper whites as opposed to viscupus ones. Ive had rousannw and marsanne whites from wellington and i would think they went through malo b /c i did not like them much though i coyld tell were well-made. Am I correct to assume the aforementioned whites went through malo? Im glad to read you only used stainless which is how i like my whire, inluding chards!

Second that! "Thanks for feedback. I assume today is a busy day in Sonoma for wine tasting so appreciate you jumping in!"

losthighwayz wrote:Thanks for feedback. I assume today is a busy day in Sonoma for wine tasting so appreciate you jumping in! I prefer crisper whites as opposed to viscupus ones. Ive had rousannw and marsanne whites from wellington and i would think they went through malo b /c i did not like them much though i coyld tell were well-made. Am I correct to assume the aforementioned whites went through malo? Im glad to read you only used stainless which is how i like my whire, inluding chards!

No worries about jumping on/off - in fact, there's a big tasting that I will need to get off to in a few minutes. The annual airshow is going on right above me in Santa Rosa right now in fact.

To the best of my knowledge, neither wine went through ML - however it also sounds like you don't care much for Rhone Whites - so I'm pretty hard pressed to advise you.

neilfindswine wrote:...thanks for stopping by Jon. I've long been an Inspiration fan.

Thanks all - I've been jumping on and off between visits...

I will be jumping off again now, but will check back tonight once I'm home from this event.

If anyone on the boards are up here in Santa Rosa and are going to the Russian River Grape Grower's Pre-Harvest Party tonight, I'm pouring the 09 Viognier...

sanity wrote:Viognier is my favorite white varietal, if I can find them well made; by bringing out the characteristics of the varietal - the floral nose, the flavor of the grape, and some good acidity, and a decent finish.

imho, if you prefer SB that is tropical and has balanced acidity, as opposed to what I call the grapefruit bombs, then this would be a good one to taste. Some vintners go overboard with the oak, which I don't get, unless they have subpar fruit. To me, Viognier's characteristics call for steel fermentation to showcase the nose and taste. Viognier can be one of the most aromatic whites, and why obscure that with oak?

edit: I went in for 2, btw; my first wine.woot purchase in a looooong time.

THANK YOU!!!!