Chenin Blanc is one of the world’s most versatile white grape varieties, capable of producing wines that range from bone dry to lusciously sweet, with or without botrytis, as well as exceptional sparkling wines. Most famously associated with the Loire Valley—particularly Vouvray, Savennières, and Anjou—it thrives in diverse soils from schist to tuffeau limestone. In the Loire, it expresses a characteristic tension between acidity and richness, often developing complex notes of quince, lanolin, and honey with age.
Outside France, Chenin has found a second home in South Africa, where it's the country’s most planted grape. Known locally as Steen, it was historically used in brandy production but now yields some of the Cape’s most compelling wines—from lean, saline bottlings off old bush vines in Swartland to more opulent styles in Stellenbosch and Breedekloof. The best examples combine orchard fruit, beeswax, and firm acidity with a mineral-driven finish.
