After 20 years in which the repertoire of American winemakers seemed to have dwindled to a half-dozen grapes, endlessly repeated, the last decade has been one of intrepid exploration. Myriad grapes once deemed unworthy or too esoteric have been rediscovered and revived by winemakers seeking to make fresh, lively wines that are simply delicious to drink nightly, rather than ponderous wines aiming for trophies.

Chenin blanc, the white grape of the central Loire Valley, is one of those grapes achieving new life in the United States. Once widely planted in California, it had largely disappeared from fine wine regions by 2000. In the last few years, though, at least a dozen California producers have started making chenin blancs, joining a handful who never stopped, along with producers in Oregon and New York.

Because of its great acidity, chenin blanc is a grape able to make wines bone dry or unctuously sweet yet fresh, with an entire spectrum in between. It has the ability to transparently display its place of origin, to age for decades and to tantalize not just with complex aromas and flavors but with a seemingly paradoxical texture that can be thick yet delicate, rich yet light.

It used to be a staple in Napa Valley. Until 1996, Charles Krug, for one, used to make more than 100,000 cases a year of inexpensive, slightly sweet chenin blanc. Most of those Napa grapes were pulled in favor of sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon, which offer a far better economic return. Americans still buy inexpensive sweet white wine, though, if it’s called chardonnay.