Obscurity is coming back into Fashion

Have you ever heard of a grape variety called Petit Manseng? Well I had some this week-end at a winery in Northern Georgia called Tiger Mountain Vineyards. This white wine was a citrus, combined with stone fruit, bomb in my mouth. Flavors of sweet apples, subtle apricot, and honey was evident in the aroma and in its taste. I had summer written all over it. It was very good and I admit that this was the first time I've tasted this varietal, so other examples I do not know. What I do know is that this young wine was balanced in flavor and body. I couldn't even tell that the wine had a 13.5% alcohol level because there was enough acidity and fruit flavor to keep the wine balanced. When the winery owners, Dr. John and Martha Ezzard, mentioned this grape variety for sample tasting, I immediately thought....France. My second thought, after tasting it was, boy this would probably make a great dessert wine. Sure enough, after a little investigating on my part, this grape variety originated in South West France, and is the principal grape variety responsible to the great wines of Juranco. Petit Manseng is a superior form of the grape Manseng. Kind of like Brunello being the superior form of Sangiovese (Chianti). Additionally, because the grape can withstand a longer growing season, in some cases, as late as November, the grape becomes concentrated with sugar, enough to produce great sweet dessert wine. Petite Manseng is becoming a quite fashionable wine within the Languedoc region of Southern France. California is seeing some plantings, and of course you can find a great example in Clayton, Georgia, at Tiger Mountain Vineyards. 706.782.4777