Ready to spice up your wine selections with unique varietals?

From classic favorites to special blends, Biltmore handcrafts a wide range of award-winning wines.

With such a wide variety of award-winning offerings, you’re sure to find a Biltmore wine to please every palate.

Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon tend to be the best-selling white and red varietals around the world—and we create excellent versions of each at Biltmore Winery—but what lies beyond these household names?

Let’s take a look at some of the more unique varietals we offer.

Viognier: crisp and refreshing

Although its roots are firmly planted in southern France, this white varietal is now grown around the globe—as long as the climate offers warm weather for growing and cool nights to protect Viognier’s moderate acidity.

Based on variables ranging from the terroir of a vineyard to production and aging, Viognier can be lighter with more hints of fruits and flowers, or deeper and creamier with flavors of vanilla and spice.

“As soon as you uncork our Vanderbilt Reserve® Virginia Viognier, handcrafted from grapes selected from premium vineyard partners in Virginia, you’ll enjoy rich scents of pineapple, vanilla, and ripe pear,” said Sharon Fenchak, Executive Winemaker. “This light-to-medium-bodied white wine features crisp and refreshing with flavors of plantain, ripe persimmon, and key lime.

Versatile and food-friendly, Biltmore’s Virginia Viognier pairs perfectly with dishes like pineapple chicken, sweet-and-sour pork, monkfish, and aged white cheddar, making it an excellent choice for a nice dinner with friends.

Tempranillo: fruit forward and earthy

Our Biltmore Estate Limited Release Tempranillo features classic earthy aromas, rich dried fig flavors, and lingering tannins.

Most of the world’s Tempranillo is grown in Spain where it is believed to have originated, but this earthy red wine is rapidly gaining a following around the globe.

“Tempranillo has a lot of personality,” said Sharon, “and our Biltmore Estate® Limited Release Tempranillo is no exception. I start with grapes selected from partner vineyards in California to craft a full-bodied and fruit-forward wine with earthy aromas, rich dried fig flavors, and lingering tannins—just what you’d expect in a classic barrel-aged Tempranillo.”

Enjoy this full-bodied red wine with classic dishes like grilled steak, smoked ribs, and blue cheese, or honor the varietal’s old-world roots with rabbit paella and ratatouille. Elegant enough for special occasion dinner parties and hostess gifts, this Tempranillo also has good aging potential.

“When I discover exceptional grapes from one of our west coast growers, it inspires me to create distinctive wines for our Limited Release series,” Sharon said. “It’s usually a smaller amount of fruit, and that gives my production team an opportunity to really bring out the qualities of the varietal.”

Chenin Blanc: lightly sweet and versatile

Our Limited Release Chenin Blanc pairs perfectly with sushi and spicy Asian flavors.

One of our guests’ favorites and a best-seller at Biltmore’s Winery, Chenin Blanc is a versatile white wine that can range from lightly sweet to quite dry, depending on the vintage and the style of winemaking.

“Biltmore Estate® Limited Release Chenin Blanc reflects the sweetness of the grape, which is very popular in the Winery’s Tasting Room. With floral aromas of key lime, lilac, and honeysuckle followed by lightly sweet flavors of ripe melon and lemon-lime, guests can easily imagine sipping it during a relaxed evening at home,” said Sharon.

“Think of our Chenin Blanc as a ‘secret weapon’ for pairing with sweet-and-sour dishes and spicy Asian cuisine,” Sharon said. “Those are not easy flavors to complement, but this wine has enough acidity and sweetness to make it work.”

In addition, Sharon suggests trying it with appetizers like prosciutto-wrapped honeydew and bang-bang shrimp, main dishes such as sushi, and desserts including peach cobbler à la mode and Biltmore® Vanilla Bean cheesecake.

Enjoy all our award-winning Biltmore wines!

Enjoy Biltmore wine on the estate and at home.

Whether you stick to your favorites or explore any of our unique varietals, you can stock up on our award-winning wines at estate shops, online, or close to home with our Biltmore Wine Finder.