Sauvignon Blanc:

Sauvignon Blanc in Review...
We've discovered that Sauvignon Blanc isn‚t the easiest grape to conquer. But, when decoding the world of wine grape by grape, we have to take the difficult along with the easy! Typically acidic (that signature sweet tart finish) with flavors of everything from grapefruit to peaches, Sauvignon Blanc isn‚t always the friendliest wine to sip on its own, but match it with a soft cheese or a sweet oyster and you can achieve new palatal heights!

Thoughts on the website's four featured wines:
The New World style SBs were better received than the French styles. So most of the girls seemed to enjoy the wines with more forward fruit and lower acidity. However, WITH FOOD, all SBs worked very well with the right match.

The Warwick from South Africa was a crowd favorite multi- dimensional and palate pleasing. Not everyone was as excited by the St. Florin --definitely a leaner style with shyer fruit. However, the Pouilly Fume was a classic example of just how good Old World SB can be.

Background Info

This month’s grape, Sauvignon Blanc, is one of the most distinct grape varietals you will taste. Therefore, it’s an especially good place for us to start. The grape takes its name from the French word sauvage, meaning wild. And that’s exactly what you will find on both the nose and the palate of these wines. Its characteristics should be quite easy to recognize and to distinguish from other grapes. And, it’s a fantastic porch-sipping wine!

Sauvignon Blanc is an extremely aromatic grape with scents of citrus, grapefruit, herbs, and grass. We typically think of citrus, peach, melon and figs when we smell these wines. On the palate, these wines will be quite crisp, with an unusually high amount of acidity. This acidity can be very refreshing on a hot summer day, and can be especially helpful when paired with vegetables, fish, and shellfish dishes, especially those that have rich sauces. The fruit should be very fat and luscious on the palate. Under ripe Sauvignon Blanc can kill and be killed by asparagus, artichokes and strong tasting green vegetables.

For the most part, Sauvignon Blanc wines are meant to be drunk very young. These wines don’t typically become better with age as some other wines do. Therefore, drink away ladies!

Where the Grape is Harvested

• France: Loire Valley and Bordeaux: This is probably the original home of Sauvignon Blanc and where you will find its most classic style wines. Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume and Menetou-Salon in Loire, and Bergerac and Entre-Deux-Mers in Bordeaux, are villages where it is grown. You will find these wines listed by the village name. In Bordeaux, Sauvignon is usually blended with the Semillon grape to add lush texture, and can see oak, unlike the Loire. These Sauvignons are the best examples of wines that will age.

The Loire wines will generally be unoaked (in contrast to some other Sauvignons we will discuss). Here we find bright, vibrant aromas of fresh green and citrus fruits, grass, gooseberries, and yes, even “cat’s pee.” The soil here is responsible for the very flinty minerality and perhaps even gunsmoke aromas that are characteristic of French Sauvignons specifically. These wines will be fairly dry on the palate.

• New Zealand: In the vineyards of Marlborough, winemakers have invested much of their status and reputation on producing Sauvignon Blanc. And for good reason! The Sauvignons produced in this area are exuberant in style, and truly a preference for many Sauvignon Blanc lovers.

These wines tend to be a little less acidic (because of the slightly warmer climate) than their French counterparts, but with juicier, fatter, more flamboyant fruit.

• California: Often called Fume Blanc when produced in California, many of these wines will be treated with a good dose of new oak. These wines can be excellent, especially when the fruit originates from cooler areas of California. California Sauvignons will have many of the same citrus, green fruit aromas, herbs and grass, but will also possess a distinct toasty, vanilla character, which comes from the oak barrels that the wines are aged in. Also, these wines will probably be missing some of the flinty, stony quality that some of the French or New Zealand Sauvignons have.

• Other: Sauvignon Blanc is also being produced in Australia, Chile, South Africa, Italy and Austria with notable success.