Hey Reader—
Quick reminder before we get into this week's Digest: my free Wine Confidence Workshop is happening this coming Tuesday, July 14 at 5pm PT | 8pm ET.
In the workshop, we'll break down the four pillars of wine structure and how to actually identify them on your own palate. From there, you'll build your personal "structural ask" — a simple way to describe the style of wine you enjoy, so you can use it the next time you're shopping at a bottle shop or scanning a wine list and chatting with the sommelier. The goal: more confidence to explore what you love, and the words to actually articulate what's happening in your glass.
If you haven't registered yet, grab your spot here:
Can't make it live? Register anyway — I'll send the replay to everyone who signs up.
Hope to see you Tuesday! Now, let's get into this week's wine lesson — because it's a fitting one in preparation for the workshop.
Cheers,
Sip Smarter: Your Weekly Wine Lesson
Chenin 101 — The Grape That Refuses to Pick a Personality
This past Monday, my Women of Vinum group got together for a deep dive into Chenin Blanc, and it was one of my favorite tastings of the year.
Here's the thing about Chenin: It's famous amongst wine professionals as the go-to default guess on a blind tasting when you don't know what's in your glass (guilty, many times over) and it's notorious for tripping students up on sommelier exams. Not because it's obscure — it's actually one of the most planted white grapes in the world — but because it refuses to taste like just one thing.
Why Chenin is so hard to pin down
Depending on where it's grown and how it's made, Chenin Blanc can show up as:
- Bone-dry, flinty, and mineral (Loire Valley, France)
- Rich, tropical, and fruit-forward (warmer climates like South Africa)
- Bright and lifted in sparkling form
- Off-dry to lusciously sweet in botrytized dessert styles
Same grape. Wildly different wines. That's exactly why it's such a chameleon — and exactly why it's worth understanding instead of writing off.
The famous growing regions
Loire Valley, France — Chenin's ancestral home. Appellations like Vouvray, Savennières, and Anjou produce everything from steely dry whites to Crémant sparkling wine to honeyed dessert styles.
South Africa — the world's Chenin powerhouse. More than half of all Chenin Blanc planted on the planet grows here (locally, it's often called "Steen"), concentrated in regions like Swartland and Paarl, including some of the oldest Chenin vines in the world.
California & Washington State — smaller plantings, but domestic producers are increasingly taking Chenin seriously as a food-friendly, high-acid alternative to Chardonnay.
Mexico — a genuinely rare find. Valle de Guadalupe and a handful of other regions grow small amounts, and it was a real treat to get our hands on a bottle for Monday's tasting.
We tasted our way through all of it: a sparkling Crémant Chenin from Vouvray, a still French Chenin, a rare Mexican Chenin, a couple of domestic bottlings, and a South African Chenin. Seven expressions total, all completely different from one another, and I loved every single one.
What ties them all together
Even with all that stylistic range, I noticed one thing every single Chenin in the lineup had in common: bracing acidity, paired with an oily, almost waxy texture on the palate. That combination — high acid plus that slick, weighty mouthfeel — is Chenin's real signature, no matter what climate it's grown in or what style it's made in.
The takeaway: next time you see Chenin Blanc on a wine list and aren't sure what you're getting, ask where it's from. Loire usually means lean and mineral. South Africa usually means a little more richness and texture. Either way, you're in for a wine with real acidity and a texture you won't forget.
Vine To Glass
Wine Of The Week: M.A.N. Family Wines Free-Run Steen Chenin Blanc
This was the bottle I brought to Monday's Chenin tasting, and it could not have been a better fit.
South Africa produces more Chenin Blanc than anywhere else on earth — over half of all global plantings — and yet it's genuinely hard to find on shelves here. I managed to snag some through Vineyard Brands, and the whole group was into it.
The producer
M.A.N. Family Wines is named after the initials of the founders' wives (Marie, Anette, and Nicky) — a nice detail that tells you this is very much a family project, not just a label. They farm old, dry-farmed vines in the Agter-Paarl region of the Western Cape and take sustainability seriously across the estate.
The winemaking
This bottling is made from "free-run" juice — meaning the juice that flows naturally from the grapes before any mechanical pressing. No forced extraction, just gravity doing the work. That gentler approach is a big part of why the fruit here tastes so clean and vivid.
What I tasted: Pear and tropical fruit are the headline, with quince, pineapple, peach, and apple layered underneath. What really won the group over was the acidity — bright, refreshing, and perfectly balanced against a smooth, almost creamy minerality. This is a beautiful summer white.
What I'd pair it with
- Roast chicken or pork with fruit-based sauces
- Spicy Thai or Vietnamese takeout
- Shellfish, especially shrimp or scallops
- A cheese board with something soft and tangy, like goat cheese
Why it's this week's pick: It's a genuine, well-made expression of the grape the world is finally waking up to, it drinks well above its price point, and it made a group of wine nerds fall in love with Chenin all over again on a random Monday night.
Cork Report
This Week’s Wine News Roundup
-
South Africa Tackles Changing Times
- Read This Before You Order Your Next ‘Crisp’ White Wine
- Take a Cue from the French: Douse Your Cheese with Champagne
