Chenin Blanc Demi-Sec (France)

Chenin Blanc grapes are used to make dry, off-dry, sweet, and sparkling wines.

This card describes Off-Dry Chenin Blanc.

Chenin Blanc Off-Dry Flavors

Ripe Fruit, Peach, Mandarin, Melon, and Passion Fruit are typical Chenin Blanc Off-Dry flavors.

With Honey and Floral notes (Jasmine), and sometimes some sugar like Marzipan.

Ripe Apple

Ripe Pear

Peach

Mandarin

Melon

Passion

Honey

Jasmine

Chenin Blanc Off-Dry Profile

Chenin Blanc Off-Dry is a mildly acidic, white wine, much like Gewürztraminer.

SUGAR:	Off - Dry

BODY:	Medium - High

FRUIT:	Medium

ACIDITY:	Medium - Low

ALCOHOL:	13% ABV

	Serving temperature: 6-8°C (43-46°F)

Chenin Blanc Off-Dry Food Pairing

Chenin Blanc Off-Dry matches spicy food as well as sweet and sour food.

It is especially great with Curry Dishes.

Aperitif

Ham

Pasta

Rice

Creamy Fish

Sushi

Chicken

Chili

Excellent Pairings

Spicy Food. Indian. Thai.
Chicken Curry.
Chinese. Vietnamese. Chinese Sweet and Sour.
Creamy Fish.
Sweet Meat.
Honey Glazed Ham.
Apples. Foie Gras.
Apple-based Desserts.

Cheeses

Camembert.

French Spesialities

Foie Gras and Chicken Liver with Apple Chutney.

Chenin Blanc Styles

Chenin Blanc is a terroir-reflective grape with a rather neutral flavor profile. Soil (terroir), climate, old vines, and winemaking technices can be much reflected in the wine.

In France, Chenin Blanc produces wines with high acidity, and flavors of Apple and Pear. In warmer climates, Chenin Blanc produces more tropical aromas like Guava and Pinapple.

The high acidity allows Chenin Blanc to produce a variety of wine types.

In Loire, early harvested grapes are used to create the sparkling Crémant de Loire.

Late-harvested Chenin Blanc, infected with noble rot, is used to produce dessert wines with well balanced aromas of Peach, Honey, and Marzipan.

Chenin Blanc in Europe

France

Loire is the French wine region most closely associated with Chenin Blanc.

The Vouvray Region

Chenin Blanc is the dominant white grape in the Vouvray region in the Loire Valley. The region has its own terms to describe Chenin Blanc:

Methode Traditionelle – Sparkling Chenin Blanc.
Sec – Dry Chenin Blanc.
Tendre – Off-dry Chenin Blanc (perhaps the most popular style in France).
Moelleux – Sweet Chenin Blanc (dessert wine style).

The Anjou Region

Anjou is best known for sparkling Chenin Blanc (Anjou Mousseaux and Crémant de la Loire).

Côteaux du Layon

Sweet Chenin Blanc from Côteaux du Layon, made with noble rot, are amazing, and world famous (Quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux).

The Montlouis Region

The Montlouis region produces high quality Vouvray style dry Chenin Blanc.

Chenin Blanc in the New World

South Africa

South Africa accounts for about 50% of the plantings of Chenin Blanc.

Chenin Blanc is also commonly found in USA, Australia, and New Zealand.

Wine Region Loire

Loire Valley Climate

Different regions are subject to different climate influences:

Lower Loire (Muscadet and Pays Nantais) has a cool maritime climate with high rainfall.
Middle Loire (Anjou-Saumur and Touraine) has a cold climate with a mix of oceanic and continental influence.
Central Loire (Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé) has a cold continental climate with cold winters and warm summers.

Loire Valley Terroir

The terroir in the Loire Valley is incredibly varied due to its geographic spread:

Lower Loire is known for its granite and schist soils, which give the wines (Muscadet) a distinctive mineral character.
Middle Loire has limestone, clay and sand soils. The Saumur and Touraine soils can be good for both white and red wines.
Central Loire has limestone and silex (flint) soils which give the Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé wines their signature smoky and mineral flavors.