Chenin blanc is the French white grape that’s the main building block for many fine wines coming out of the Loire region. It’s sometimes known there as Pineau d’Anjou, although it isn’t related to Pinot Noir. South Africa actually grows more Chenin—they mostly call it Steen there—than all of France. California, Chile, and the Antipodes also make it, as does B.C.

French Chenin-based wines—the grape is also used as a blending component—are pretty much the apotheosis of the grape. There are none in this tasting exercise; another time. Most of these come from South Africa, with a smattering from the Okanagan, a single Aussie, and a low-end Californian. Chenin Blanc is a good late-spring-through-summer sipper; the price points tend to make it a gulper too.

California House TGB Chenin Blanc n/v ($6.99)
This is by far the cheapest we get here, an example of the sweeter, apple-juice style of Chenin, made in California and bottled in B.C. The fruit’s okay, acidity is barely there, finish—what finish? The label suggests sole, chicken, pork, mild cheeses, and salads. We liked it with a DQ ice cream cake. The alcohol is right at 11 percent, and at the price, who really cares where it comes from? Spritzable for when—if!—it gets really warm.

Leopard’s Leap The Lookout Chenin Blanc/Chardonnay/Colombard 2007 ($10.01)
Pricing it at a penny over our ten-buck limit eliminates this one from the next Tasty Tenners column (coming in a month’s time). The label claims the wine is “made by happy people” and suggests it for Szechuan pan-fried duck; the lightly bitter bite at the back of the palate would handle that just fine. Good structure, not so sweet as the Californian—drier, brighter, and lighter, even at 13 percent.

MAN Vintners Chenin Blanc Coastal South Africa Steen 2008 ($11.99)
You can’t beat this one for value. Luscious but not overpowering, it shows green-tasting (but ripe) fruit and a gentle bitter bite, which seems to be a hallmark of certain South African Chenins. An excellent newcomer to our shelves that’s obviously built on a well-established Steen heritage.

Winery of Good Hope Chenin Blanc 2008 ($13.99)
This has been a summer favourite since it first showed up here at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, the year South Africa was the theme region. The price has risen a little since then, but it’s still very good value. Tastewise, it continues to define what good South African Chenin Blanc wants to be: herbaceous, with hefty fruit, crystal-bright and full in the mouth. Dropping the price by a couple of bucks wouldn’t hurt, and might be a nice gesture.

Inniskillin Discovery Series Chenin Blanc 2006 ($16.99)
Honey and honeydew are two of the signposts the winemaker has put on the label, and they’re certainly to be found in this rich and silky wine, which is redolent of big, ripe grapes and lip-smackingly good. A little on the sweeter side, it’s still state-of-the-art Chenin. A bit of this vintage remains on the shelves, but I’m really looking forward to the 2007 vintage (the turnover is happening as the ’06 stocks deplete), because of its shorter residual sugar—half that of the 2006. Right direction.

Saxenburg Guinea Fowl Chenin Blanc/Viognier 2008 ($18.99)
A very stylish, rich blend with quite a lot of the mellowing Viognier in the mix (32 percent to the 68 percent Chenin Blanc), made from 30-year-old vines and left to intensify for a long while on the lees. An ideal spicy-cuisine companion, it also makes a delicious apéritif (and was a surprisingly virile foil for green split-pea soup with Easter ham bones). A predictably fine wine from one of South Africa’s oldest (started in 1693) and best wineries, whose entire portfolio is well worth discovering.

Quails’ Gate Chenin Blanc 2008 ($18.99)
A rush for the tongue, this is certainly the tartest (is there such a word?) Chenin Blanc most of us could recall tasting. Where’s the customary Chenin Blanc sweetness? Well hidden among the big grass—almost Sauvignon-like; there is eight percent Sauvignon Blanc in it—with a sharp, pointy finish. Not at all unpleasant, but something of a shock for the palate, coming as it did after the previous six-pack. Very minerally, with lots of lemon and lime. “The definitive B.C. oyster wine” says the winemaker, suggesting fresh heirloom tomato salad with it.

Stanley Chenin/Semillon/Chardonnay n/v ($19.49, 2-litre bag-in-the-box)
Your typical Australian “cask wine”, and here’s the mission statement right off the front: “An appealing, full-bodied, dry white wine with well-integrated fruit and oak”. Not much more to add; it’s sturdy, fruity, fresh, and, above all, convenient. This is the one for the kayak, the backpack, the camper. Keeps for a couple of weeks after opening—as if.

Road 13 Sparkling Chenin Blanc 2006 ($29.99)
This is incredible, crown cap and all (that’s the old-time beer-bottle cap, instead of a Champagne cork). They were pouring it surreptitiously at the Playhouse wine festival in March. I put my name down for a case, tasted another glass, and changed it to two cases. Which made a mini-dent in the winery’s total production of 90-something. Can’t recall another sparkling Chenin Blanc made here (or many places outside of France), but it’s a trend worth a-building, if this is an example of the possibilities.

The wine is the very first all-me-own-work from cellar master Bailey Williamson. It’s super-bright and heady with fresh fruit bursting out of the bubbles; a spectacular, crisp, and bracing finish; and acerbically dry. Said winemaker Michael Bartier of his protégé’s first solo flight when asked for a food-matching tip, “If it doesn’t go with sparkling [wine], you shouldn’t put it in your mouth.” There are still a few boxes left, but only at the winery on Road 13 in the South Okanagan.