WONDERFUL WINTER WHITES THAT WON'T LEAVE YOUR WALLET OUT IN THE COLD

New Zealand, Chilean Sauvignon Blancs give more bang for the buck than French

I was out at the Steveston Seafood House in Richmond, B.C. last week and managed to do a very interesting sequential tasting.

We ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire with our fish. It was a great wine, and we enjoyed every drop. I was still eating my salmon and everyone else was done, so I ordered a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc by the glass to finish. The wine was tremendously aromatic but on a different part of the spectrum than the French wine. The Chilean was smoky and fruity rather than herbaceous. Had I been tasting blind I likely would have assumed the wine was a Pouilly Fume.

Yeah, I know. It’s January. When Saskatoon is colder than both the North and South Poles. ( Winnipeg is worse: They’re colder than the planet Mars.) But chilled white wine? Are you nuts? No Virginia, I’m not nuts. I eat shellfish all year ’round. Shrimp, a dip, and a bottle of white wine is a pretty easy dinner to prepare. (If you’re feeling ambitious you can always add carrot sticks, but who wants vegetables in January?)

The problem, of course, is that your bank balance is about as dead as your car’s battery. Fear not! Dr. Booze is here with cheap wines he drinks all year.

That second paragraph is a tip, guys: Chilean Sauvignon Blanc is hitting the highest levels of wines produced in the Loire for significantly less money. Note well! When Dr. Booze is broke, he drinks Chilean. The cheapest Chilean wine comes in a box. As per my earlier observations, I tend to stick to Frontera from Chile which comes in a three-litre box for $30. You have to like that. If you want to impress a date with your savoir faire, they sell the same stuff in a bottle for $11. The bonus in the box is that “free” fourth “bottle” of 750 mL.

If for some reason Frontera bothers you (and I have to admit I only buy it when I’m camping), I’d still suggest shopping the Chilean and Argentinian sections for Sauvignon Blanc. They seldom get much over about $13 a bottle and there are a number of quite drinkable labels at that mark. If you want to search out a wine like Steveston Seafood served me, you probably need to toss another five on the table.

That price, of course, gets you to the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc section. Typically, they start at about $15. In general, their wines are more exuberant, a little more fruit-forward, a bit more intense. But if you can support the extra couple of bucks, generally worth it. Wise Owl goes on sale regularly at Co-op for just under that price. I’m a huge fan of The Ned, which is only available at Co-op. Their Rose – not their Sauvignon Blanc – is on sale at the moment at Co-op.

You really shouldn’t limit yourself to Sauvignon Blanc, either. If you want a similar profile, crisp, some herbs, maybe a bit nutty if you buy a mature vintage, you should be shopping the Spanish aisle. El Petit Bonhomme is a Rueda wine, a Verdejo. I find it a bit less aggressive than many Sauvignon Blanc. I found my bottle at Co-op. SLGA stocks another three Verdejo-based wines, including the very crisp Heights of the Charge for a mere $13.

Wine of the Week: El Petit Bonhomme 2016 $17

Other Choices:

Frontera Sauvignon Blanc NV

$11/750 mL, $30/3L

Wise Owl Sauvignon Blanc

2017 $15.