Viader Wines - Worth Every Sip!

As one of the premiere wine makers in California's Napa Valley, Viader wines (pronounced vee-uh-dare) has a history all it's own. Founded in 1986 by Delia Viader, VIADER is located 1200 feet above the Napa Valley floor just northeast of St. Helena on the steep, rocky slopes of Howell Mountain. The first wine Delia started with was a blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon in 1989.


Born in Argentina, Delia spent much of her time in Europe. Coming to the U.S. as a post graduate, she had earned her PhD. Through her persistence and vast wine knowledge, the property where Viader wines were made,was known as a first growth property.


On to the delicious and artfully crafted wines that are produced by Delia Viader and Viader Wines.


First I tried the 2006 Viader blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon and 34% Cabernet Franc. I found it to be a spectacular wine. It is dark plum in color. The nose presents; plum, spice,chocolate, rasin with a bit of oak. The entry was of a well structered and full bodied wine. It had nice smooth tannins, well defined oak, good fruit, mid palette was pleasant and it followed with a nice long finish. This is a great wine by itself. The beauty of this wine is that it is drinkable now but will age very well and 5-7 more years it will prove to be even smoother and have more character.


I drank it first by itself , and then I paired it with a london broil, mashed potatos and garlic buttered string beans. It made every bite of the london broil better.


Next I sampled the 2007 Dare Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Franc is traditionally a blending grape and has been for many years by the French wine makers and then by California. It has slowly become a solo act with consumers, and some wine makers are producing Cabernet Franc on it's own..


I found this to be the finest I have tried. It's color was a lighter plum then it's Viader blend counterpart. It's bouquet was of cherry and mocha. It was medium to full bodied with very good structure. The tannins were not as big but the finish was long.


I drank this by itself first and then paired it with a meatloaf, butternut squash and sweet potato casserole. Outstanding combination.


I highly recommend both of these wines for any true wine enthusiast who wants to drink a great glass of wine or impress the crowd they are serving it to.If you want more information about Viader Wines go to viader.comwww.viader.com. You can also check out Viader winery in the Friends of Hungrygrape online winery directory in the Wine section of the site or by clicking here: Friends of Hungrygrape Winery Director - Viader

About the Author

Stu Nudelman, known to many as "Stu the Wine Guru" is a sought after reviewer and commentator on wine. In addition to being an On-Air Host for his internationally successful radio show, "Wine Talk with Stu The Wine Guru", Stu is also a wine journalist, and reviewer for Yahoo and Examiner.com. Stu's wine articles and reviews have been read by millions all over the world via the internet. He has also created a "Wine 101 Digital Video Series" that covers wines of different regions, which can be viewed world wide via industry and non industry portals. Stu is a wine consultant for wine companies globally. Visit Stu at stuthewineguru.com