Disclaimer: This site uses demographic data, email opt-ins, display advertising, and affiliate links. Please check out our Terms and Conditions for more information. This website is intended for those of legal drinking age in your jurisdiction.
Wine review at a glance
Bottle – Domaine Vigneau Chevreau Selection Organic Vouvray
Grape– 100% Chenin Blanc
Area– Loire, France
Vintage – Non Vintage
Method of production– Traditional method.
Sweetness level– Brut (Dry)
Acidity– Medium(+)
Alcohol– Medium(+)
Body – Medium (-)
Intensity – Medium (-)
Notes – Green apple, yellow apple, white peaches, lemon, brioche, pastry dough
Length – Medium
Rating – 37/50 , quite good!
Price – $19
Value for money – 7/10
Hailing from the 33 acre, certified biodynamic vineyard of Vigneau-Chevreau, in Touraine, Loire Valley, Northern France, this bottle of a 100% Chenin Blanc Grapes, was a refreshing sipper. A beautiful medium gold in the glass, the wine had fresh notes of citrus (I mostly got meyer lemons), apple- bottle green and yellow, some white peach and a decent amount of yeasty, brioche notes. This was a dry wine, but the riper yellow apple and white peach notes kept it from becoming austere and made it just a tad round on the palate.
Amidst yet another Pittsburgh downpour, my yearning for fried delights led me to the exquisite pakodas and bhajiyas – Indian fritters, crisp and spiced, lovingly enveloped in chickpea flour batter. Today’s creation: potato and onion pakodas, though paneer would shine here as well. The wine’s medium-plus acidity danced beautifully with the fried batter’s crunch, inviting bite after bite. A match made in culinary heaven! For those not on an Indian fritter journey today, consider savoring this wine with salty French fries or vegetable tempura. Mm..mm..mmm!
Pakora or Bhajiyas are Indian Fritters, most commonly made with a mildly spiced chickpea flour batter. The crisp acidity and fresh flavours of this wine pairs wonderfully with the deep fried pakodas
Traditional method sparkling wines are made in the same way as Champagne. They might have different grapes that are allowed in the Champagne region but the textural aspect of the bubbles would, most often, be similar. As a bonus, because these wines don’t have the ‘Champagne’ name (or the many regulations that come with it), you can find some great value bottles. I bought this one at $19, plus tax at our local PA state store. At this price point, it can most certainly be a wine that you can open up with an occasional, no-frills meal and, make it special.
Had this bottle had more aromatic complexity and a longer finish on the palate, this would have gotten a higher score for me. While it is a very well made sparkling wine, and you should pick up a bottle( or two), I would not drive out of my way for it. It does do some things very well, like great acidity and some nice brioche notes, coming from it’s 2 year stint on the lees. However, the autolytic notes don’t hold their weight for very long and fade fairly quickly. The price point though, is quite hard to beat and ranked a respectable 7 out of 10, in my books. Cheers!
This really helps! Gonna try this.
Fritters of veggies like brinjal and cauliflower zucchini etc will also do here with this wine?
😀 Thanks Mumma! Yes, any veggie fritters will do. Though, I’d not use something like a capsicum or mirchi pakora for this because the sharpness will mask the delicate flavours of this wine.
Wow quite interesting combination…wine n pakoras.. written very lucratively .. just making me crave for them rich away…
Thank you for stopping by Jyotsana. You can do this with a nice champagne as well. I would just go lighter on the spices and skip the chutney. I know that is hard 🙂 but worth a try.