You won't be stuck in Lodi with Incognito viognier

Viognier can be a great spring and summer wine to sip or drink with spicy foods. It is usually a dry and intense white, offering a fragrant floral aroma mixed with fruits sometimes including peaches, pears and apricots. Some folks like to compare the aroma to a nice perfume. It is usually medium-bodied.

This white grape started in the Rhone Valley of France, but it now is being grown in increasingly larger amounts in California.

I asked the wine-tasting group to compare five viognier (vee-oh-NYAY) wines in a blind tasting. Here are our results.

-- 2002 Incognito Viognier at $18.99. This wine was from the Lodi region of California. Its aroma had a steely character with pineapple and almost meaty fragrances that made the mouth water. On the palate, the pineapple tasted very ripe, leaving a strong impression of sweetness. My experts thought this would be a great wine with spicy food such as Indian curries that might require chutney. The Incognito finished first in our tasting.

-- 2002 La Gauphine Viognier at $17.99. This aroma showed more vanilla and oak along with cooked fruit. On the palate, we tasted the vanilla along with bananas and ripe pears. This was a nice wine that finished third.

-- 2000 Fess Parker Viognier at $17.99. Actors, including Parker, can make good wine. We had to swirl our glasses a bit to rid the opening aromas of sulfur, deviled eggs and asparagus. On the palate, the wine improved a lot with plenty of viscosity, almost a fat texture. It had good structure, balancing the fruit and acids. It had a long finish with a bit of a bite at the end.

-- 2000 Cosentino Viognier at $17.99. This wine offered fragrances of peach and apricot along with hints of iodine. On the palate, we tasted dried cloves and savory spice.

-- 2000 Cambria Viognier at $17.99. We discovered tropical fruit and some citrus fruit in the aroma. It had a delightfully creamy texture and a nice, long finish. This wine finished second in our tasting.

Surfing the wine shelves:

-- 2003 San Angelo Pinot Grigio at $17. This wine offered a multitude of fruits including apple, pear and peach along with some citrus. On the palate, it was nice and crisp.

-- 2001 Valley of the Moon Zinfandel at $15. We discovered oak, pepper and sweet, ripe plum and other fruit in this easy-to-drink red.

-- 2002 Cuvaison Chardonnay at $23.99. This was a big, creamy chardonnay with lots of citrus fruit and a bit of oak.

-- 2002 Jacob's Creek Shiraz at $8.99. A nice bottle at this price, it offered cherries, pepper and spice all the way through to a long finish.

-- 2003 Wyndom Estate Bin 122 Chardonnay at $8.99. This was a creamy wine with soft melon flavors and a touch of oaking. It was crisp on the finish.

-- 2001 Sokol Blosser Pinot Gris at $18.99. We found orange and citrus in the aroma along with a slight hint of fresh grass. In the mouth, the wine had a pleasant oily texture with flavors of citrus, melon and spice.

-- 2001 Lafleur-Gazin Pomerol at $42. This Bordeaux-wine was 80 percent merlot and 20 percent cabernet franc. It was deeply dark in color and fruit. Black berries and cassis were prevalent with a hint of spice.

-- 1999 Gallo of Sonoma Frei Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon at $28. Black cherries and berries, black currants and eucalyptus emerged in the aroma. The fruit continued on the palate with a nice compliment of oak.

-- 2002 Beringer Carneros Pinot Noir at $16. The aroma offered cherries, strawberries and toast. The oaking was more evident on the palate and along with the cherries.

Questions may be sent to Frank Sutherland, editor, The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville 37203, or e-mailed to editor@tennessean.com..