in the vineyard : This variety is known for its fickleness in the vineyard, yet can be a gem when handled gently. Challenging, unpredictable and uneconomically low yields (at times half of most varieties - barely 20 hl/ha), difficult fruit-set and ripening. No wonder the well-known Rhône authority, Remington Norman, calls it a 'fickle mistress'. (Perhaps the heady perfume is to blame?). Viognier is planted more and more all over the world - in California, Brazil, Australia, the South of France and South Africa.