Showy Sauvignon Blanc makes a big impression
This lively white, with many variations the perfect tipple for summer’s finale
Sauvignon Blanc is like an exuberant friend — it brings life to the party and makes a lasting impression.
The zippy white grape’s lineage tracks back to Bordeaux in France, where it’s a key component of white Bordeaux — yep, they make whites there, too. Sauvignon Blanc is often paired with the more neutral, fuller-bodied Semillon. Sauvignon plays the prankster, Semillon the straight man.
Light-bodied, high-impact Sauvignon Blanc has found comfortable homes around the world — from France to Chile, New Zealand to South Africa, plus Canada and the United States, too.
And like any top-notch grape, it’s characteristics differ slightly by region or terroir. In Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume in France’s Loire Valley, the highly-acidic wines can deliver flavours of lemon, fresh cut grass, gooseberry, thyme and a flinty smokiness.
In New Zealand, probably the world’s best-known Sauvignon Blanc producer, the flavours are cranked to 11, with aromas ranging from gooseberry to grass, passion fruit to green pepper, asparagus and even jalapeno.
Chilean, South African and North American Sauv Blancs often fall somewhere between the French and New Zealand styles. In the U.S., the term Fume Blanc is sometimes used for wines made from Sauvignon Blanc. Wine pioneer Robert Mondavi coined the phrase, combining Fume from Pouilly-Fume with Blanc from Sauvignon Blanc.
As we hit the home stretch on summer, it’s a perfect time to try these vibrant wines that pair well with difficult-to-match foods such as asparagus, green pepper, artichoke and chèvre cheese, plus a wide number of white-fleshed fish.
Drink: Now. Enjoy it with shellfish such as scallops, oysters or mussels. Screw cap: 13.8 per cent alc./vol.
WHITEHAVEN
2015, Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, New Zealand Greg and Susan White had successful careers in New Zealand — Greg in banking and Susan in marketing — when they decided to set sail in 1989.
The pulled up anchor on their 15-metre boat and started a twoyear journey in the South Pacific. It was while on this journey that they fell in love with the Marlborough region at the northern end of New Zealand’s south island.
By the time they were done sailing they had a new life plan, to open a winery. Whitehaven was launched in 1994. They built and developed the winery together until 2007, when Greg passed away. Susan took the helm and continues to lead the winery, which produces around 250,000 cases a year.
This past December, Whitehaven hit the historic milestone of exporting one million cases of Sauvignon Blanc to the United States.
In the bottle, you’ll find lively flavours of fresh cut grass, lemon, lime, passion fruit, gooseberry, flint and jalapeno. The acid is nicely balanced with the fruit and the finish goes forever.
Price: About $21. It is widely available, check your nearest liquor store.
Drink: Now, with asparagus, baked goat cheese or on its own.
Screw Cap: 13 per cent alc./vol.