Petit Manseng
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2027
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
blue cheese, fruit tarts, spicy Thai curry
✨ Technical Specifications
Scheid Vineyards brings a touch of Southwest France to Monterey County with their estate-grown Petit Manseng. Historically famous in its native Jurançon—where legend says the lips of the future King Henry IV of France were rubbed with garlic and a drop of Petit Manseng wine at his baptism in 1553—this thick-skinned, low-yielding grape thrives in Monterey's unique climate. The dramatic diurnal temperature swings and persistent winds of the Salinas Valley allow the grapes to hang late into the season, concentrating sugars and complex tropical aromas while preserving the variety's trademark vibrant, electric acidity. Scheid crafts this rare California gem to showcase its exotic stone fruit, honeyed apricot, and citrus peel characteristics, backed by the estate's commitment to 100% wind-powered, sustainable viticulture.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1972 by pioneer Al Scheid, Scheid Vineyards began as an ambitious viticultural venture in southern Monterey County, initially supplying fruit to major California wineries before evolving into a vertically integrated estate wine producer. Spanning more than 3,000 acres across a 70-mile expanse of the Salinas Valley—encompassing microclimates across the Monterey, Arroyo Seco, and Hames Valley AVAs—the estate leverages thermal diurnal shifts driven by maritime winds off Monterey Bay. Viticulture balances alluvial gravel, decomposed granite, and clay-loam soils across twelve distinct ranch sites, farmed under SIP Certified and Certified California Sustainable standards, with the winery fully powered by an onsite wind turbine. Winemaking prioritizes varietal clarity, tension, and texture across an eclectic portfolio, celebrated for vibrant Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, aromatic Viognier, racy Dry Riesling, and rare regional white bottlings such as Petit Manseng and Roussanne.
🍇 Grapes
Petit Manseng