Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, and Marsanne : White Rhones in Washington State
Getting bored with Chardonnay? Check out Washington State’s emerging Rhone white varietals.
Working with white Rhone varietals, you can produce a white wine with a cacophony of ripe aromas and flavors. The honey, spice, and citrus of Rhone varietals is a most welcome alternative if you’re growing bored with the butter and mineral flavors of Chardonnay.
Cofermenting with Syrah
Most of the world’s greatest Syrah based wines come from the Northern Rhone and most of those Syrahs are cofermented with white grapes. This has the counter-intuitive effect of stabilizing color and increasing freshness. Here are the legal limits for blending white grapes in Northern Rhone AOC red wines.
Cote-Rotie – Up to 20% Viognier.
Crozes- Hermitage – Up to 20% Marsanne and Roussanne.
Hermitage – Up to 20% Marsanne and Roussanne .
St. Joseph – Up to 10% Marsanne and Roussane.
Take a gander at below our list of currently available Rhône varietals:
Each pail includes 5 gallons of grape must
Product will arrive partially frozen.
Contra Costa County, California
Brix: 24.6 , pH: 3.80 , TA: 3.3 g/L , YAN: NA mg/L
(Just click through photos for ETS Lab Report or CLICK HERE)
Harvested September 11th, 2025
Planted in 2005
Sandy Lane Vineyard is renowned for its ancient vines—own-rooted, head-trained, and dry-farmed plantings that date back to 1888. These historic vines grow in forty-foot-deep granitic beach sand along the Sacramento River Delta, where steady Delta breezes shape wines of purity, depth, and a true sense of place.
The Grenache block offered here is the one exception. Rather than being from the 1880s, it was replanted in 2005 after yield declines in the original vines. Even so, it shares the same soils, exposure, and dry-farming practices as the old blocks. The result is Grenache that carries Sandy Lane’s unmistakable character—fine-grained tannins, brightness, and concentration—expressed through the vigor of younger vines.
Expect lifted aromatics and flavors of wild strawberry, red plum, white pepper, dried herbs, and subtle earthiness. The sandy soils bring a transparent structure, while the younger vine age adds freshness and approachability. It’s not “ancient vine” in age, but it’s very much Sandy Lane in spirit.
Sandy Lane borders the famed Evangelho Vineyard (now farmed by Bedrock Wine Co.) and has supplied fruit to Ridge Vineyards and other top producers. This Grenache represents a rare opportunity to explore a newer planting within a legendary vineyard.
Quantities are extremely limited.