Timing is indeed everything.
Chenin blanc was America's most popular white wine throughout the 1970s. But when U.S. consumers started getting serious about good wine in the late 1980s and '90s, the chenins on most store shelves were, not to put too fine a point on it, downright crummy.
Domestic versions generally were mediocre at best. Imports from South Africa -- often bearing the unfortunate name "steen," which sounds more like a cattle call than a wine -- were worse.
And the offerings from chenin blanc's epicenter, France's Loire Valley, often lacked freshness (due to lax shipping standards) and were hard to decipher (due to the myriad levels of sweetness and effervescence, plus typically unhelpful labeling).
All of that, blessedly, has changed, with wonderful chenin blancs emanating from all three locales. The South Africans have almost abandoned the "steen" brand and improved their winemaking techniques. West Coast vintners have figured out where chenin blanc should -- and more important, should not -- be grown. And the myriad bottlings from the Loire, while still frustratingly coy about their sweetness levels, are fresher and tastier than ever.
While the driest chenins tend to have a touch of sweetness, even the sweeter renditions have enough minerality and acidity to provide a fascinating mouth feel and a bracing finish. That also makes them extraordinarily versatile at the dinner table.
Almost uniformly, chenins also boast strikingly floral aromatics and melon and citrus flavors. For those who like either chardonnay or sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc is a happy medium between the two.
Those who want to "ease" into chenin can try two dandy California blends, the Gravity Hills Chenin-Riesling or the Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier. Or they could go straight for the lush and lovely Dry Creek Vineyards Chenin Blanc from Clarksburg, a real bargain at $12.
