Kinkead Ridge White Wines

It's just a couple of weeks until the release of the 2013 wines from the Kinkead Ridge Winery in Ripley OH.  As usual for me it's time to start drinking some of the older bottles to make room for the new vintage, which promises to be very good.

First up was was 2008 Viognier Roussanne from the 2008 vintage, a blend of 57% Viognier and 43% Roussanne.  This is a little higher in Roussanne than usual, but one makes what the vintage gives you. This is definitely a wine on the more savory side of the scale with a bit of orange zest, ripe melons and pineapples up front and at the end but definitely not in the middle. The orange zest had a definite bitterness to it that balanced the flavors from the other fruits.  the color was clear and bright with no signs of oxidation or darkening. 

Dinner was a chicken roasted over indirect heat on the grill and a pasta dish full of fresh asparagus and a sauce of olive oil, grainy mustard, anchovy paste, thyme, garlic, small tomatoes and shallots.  There was also a few spears of fresh pineapple that were grilled on the plate.  The wine did an amazing job of standing up to the asparagus but the big surprise was how well the wine matched up with the grilled pineapple.  There was a similar flavor profile and the small bit of smokiness in the pineapple was nearly perfect with the wine. 

2008 Kinkead Ridge Viognier Roussanne.  14.8% alcohol and $17.