Fringe grape has a following

Viognier is a hard sell in this country. Nick Farr of By Farr says his family scaled back its output from 500 dozen to 125 dozen three years ago. Now they’re creeping up a bit and this year will sell 200 dozen ”if we’re lucky”. “It’s difficult to get the public to taste it, and even to get sommeliers to look at it,” Farr says. ”And the price doesn’t seem to matter.” It doesn’t help that it’s difficult to pronounce (vee-OHN-yay). But that’s not the full story. Viognier is a fringe variety. There is little profile or understanding of it, writes Huon Hooke in the Sydney Morning Herald.