It is pronounced vee-awn-YAY. While the origin of the word isn’t exactly known, it comes from France and Croatia. It could be a bastardization of the most common namesake, Vienne, which is a city in France and used to be a major Roman outpost. It could also draw its name from the way the Romans pronounce via Gehennae, which means the “Road of the Valley of Hell.” Either of these theories could make sense because of the belief that Viognier dates back to the days of the Roman Empire.