the Rizzo winery NOTEBOOK
At Rizzo, we want to help our valued customers learn about how many hands this bottle went through before reaching their glass - or why wine has been the chosen beverage for thousands of years throughout history. We wanted to share the tools that enable our wine lovers to feel confident about discussing the bottle of Rizzo they are drinking with friends.
We created the Notebook to help get you there and to pass on our wealth of knowledge to you.
Viognier In The Spring
Viognier is the perfect wine for spring sipping as the sunshine peaks out from between the clouds. Rizzo's Viognier is now on our Spring Flight and retails for $20.
Viognier is the perfect in between of Chardonnay, where it has a similar full and lush body, and Riesling, where it contains similar aromatics, like peach, pear, and violet. The Willamette Valley had many plantings of these two grape varieties already, and at Rizzo, we like to be a little different.
Viognier, a white grape originating from France’s warm Rhône Valley, is best known for being the only grape permitted in Condrieu. If you know the Willamette Valley, you’d know that it’s not nearly as warm as the Rhône Valley, but you would also know that this beautiful valley of ours has hundreds of different microclimates. One of which can be found in the tip top of our vineyard, where the sun shines the most, allowing for our 1 acre of Viognier to be bathed in warmth most days in the growing season. Similar to the strong Mistral winds that blow through the Rhône Valley, Rizzo is in the Eola-Amity Hills which is known for the Van Duzer winds that breeze through the Cascade and Coastal Mountain Ranges.
Rizzo’s 2015 Viognier Tasting Notes
Our Viognier is pale-lemon in hue, with aromatic notes of citrus rind, orange blossom and soft hay, which fill the glass. Served best lightly chilled, the fresh acidity and notes of bright green-apple, apricot kernel, and young stone-fruit balance invitingly with warm notes of vanilla and honeyed hazelnut.
Pair our Viognier
Pair our Viognier with picnics in the park: add a mild cheddar or a honey goat cheese, an herb forward salad, add a sliced granny smith apple to the mix and try to find the flavor notes in the wine!
Pair our Viognier with dinner: complimenting crab cakes as an appetizer followed by a creamy pasta dish.
Pair our Viognier with sunshine: It’s delicious on the porch with friends on a warm summer day. No snacks necessary.
This delicious Viognier retails for $20
If you’re a club member it’s $16 / $15 / $14 depending on your wine club level.
Celebrate The Seasonal Change
Soak up the last little bit of Summer with our Summer Bruschetta. This delicious treat is a wonderful pairing to our Muscat Canelli. We’ve also included some tasting notes, so you can bring this combo to a picnic and impress all your friends with your wine knowledge and expertise!
It’s still quite warm in Oregon, so we’re holding on to every last drop of summer we can. This recipe for Summer Bruschetta helps us deny that summer is coming to an end. Whip up a batch of our Summer Bruschetta, chill a bottle of our Muscat Canelli, and soak up some September sunshine!
Yum! We love enjoying fresh, local produce.
Print these out, or read ahead of time to impress your friends with all your flavor profile knowledge!
