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Chenin Blanc is a versatile white-wine grape variety that has been cultivated in France for nearly 1300 years. It is most commonly associated with France's Loire Valley, and its high acidity levels mean it can be vinified in a number of different styles: as lusciously sweet, botrytis-affected dessert wines, light, honeyed sparkling wines and as full-bodied, still white wines.

The variety has had its ups and downs throughout its long history. Official French documents first mention Chenin Blanc as early as 845, and the variety has appeared in various parts of the Loire under a multitude of synonyms since. The grape fell out of fashion somewhat in the early 20th Century, but renewed interest in the 1980s has reinvigorated Chenin Blanc's position as a classic and noble grape variety.

Chenin Blanc may be crafted to any level of sweetness, ranging from bone-dry, crisp and sparkling, through to sweet dessert wines. This is reflected in the number of winemaking techniques and styles employed in Chenin production, such as stainless steel, extended-lees contact and barrel maturation. In this respect it is not dissimilar to Chardonnay, with which it commonly appears in blends; however, the two are not closely related genetically.

In the vineyard, growers must keep Chenin Blanc's naturally high yields in check, allowing flavors to concentrate and its floral bouquet to come through. The variety buds early and ripens late, making frost a risk in the cooler parts of the world.

Most of the Loire's significant acreage planted to Chenin Blanc is around the cities of Angers and Touraine. Intense, minerally white wines with green apple characters are most commonly associated with the Savennieres appellation of the former, while dry and semi-dry Vouvray wines of the latter are a little more tropical and honeyed in character. The sparkling Cremant de Loire wines of Anjou, Saumur and Touraine are largely based on Chenin Blanc. These lean, racy wines often have a more floral nose and a nuttiness that comes from the lees contact required by the appellation.

Arguably the best expressions of Chenin Blanc from the Loire are the sweet, botrytized wines from Quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux, where autumn mists in the Loire’s cool side valleys produce the required conditions for noble rot, resulting in wines with baked-apple, ripe peach and quince flavors. Botrytized Chenin wines are less weighty than their counterparts in Sauternes, but are capable of aging as long as the Bordeaux sweet wines, sometimes for longer. Good sweet Vouvray requires a decade to hit its peak but can be cellared for more than a century.

Like New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or Argentinian Malbec, Chenin Blanc has found a specific home in the New World: this time in the vineyards of South Africa. This country has surpassed France to become the largest grower and producer of Chenin, and it remains the most-planted variety there. Chenin Blanc arrived in South Africa in the mid-17th Century, and was immediately popular for its productivity and its ability to generate high acidity, even in hot conditions. Then, Chenin Blanc was used to create a base spirit for the brandy trade and, for much of its viticultural career thereafter, it was consigned to bulk-wine production, often blended with other white varieties.

Nowadays, a shift in attitudes to this noble grape has seen an upsurge in quality in South Africa. Old bush-vines in Stellenbosch and Swartland are making concentrated, rich wines that tend to be more tropical in character than their Loire Valley counterparts, displaying flavors of pineapple, melon, guava and banana.

California grows more Chenin Blanc than all of France, but most of these grapes are used in generic white blends. Argentina also has a significant number of Chenin Blanc vines, and the variety is often blended with Chardonnay or Torrontes to create light white wines with little distinction. Chenin Blanc is also planted in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Chile, although in minimal amounts.

Synonyms include: Chenin, Pineau, Pineau de la Loire, Pineau d’Anjou, Steen.

Food matches for Chenin Blanc include:

• Fresh oysters (dry, sparkling)

• Pulled pork tacos (dry)

• Lemon meringue pie (sweet)