Some wines are such classics that their association with a region goes hand-in-hand. Burgundy for Pinot Noir. Mendoza for Malbec. Marlborough for Sauvignon Blanc.
The Sauvignon Blancs that come out of New Zealand are some of the most popular in the world, and one producer that we see all over showcasing this grape is none other than Kim Crawford.
Naturally, we wanted to see what this one was about and picked up a bottle to enjoy. Varietal typicity? This one checks all the boxes.
We don't often think of California when drinking Sauvignon Blanc, although this is a popular grape to grow throughout the state.
In our Naked Wines subscription, we got to sample Provare's Sauvignon Blanc as part of a mystery box and felt it was a relatively straightforward bottle for its price point.
When it comes to French Sauvignon Blanc, most drinker's first thoughts go to the popular region of Sancerre.
But in the USA, we've often find that high quality Sancerres are hard to come by, and when we do find them, they're often north of $40 which is a hard pricepoint for us for this particular grape (if only because many regions do it well for far less).
Instead, when we can find it, we often pick up Pouilly-Fume bottles as they can be just as if not more intense than equivalently priced Sancerre bottles. Marc Deschamps Les Champs de Cri was no different. This one was a gem!
I have a love/hate relationship with Sauvignon Blanc (and blends) from France. On average I really enjoy the grape, but to get the intensity and complexity I generally prefer out of French wines it almost always feels like you have to start out at $40/bottle (if not more) to get to a quality point that other locales can provide for half the price.
This is not exclusive to Sauvignon Blanc. In all honesty, it is simply France knowing how to get the most for their wines abroad. But that being said, it seems especially true with all the Sauvignon Blancs we've tried.
The Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend from Chateau Picque Caillou from Pessac-Leognan was not much different. While this one was much more complex for its price point than we originally expected, we also weren't quite sure about the sell price in the USA.
Before I started to learn about wine, I was always enamored by the concept of dessert wine. Emphasis should be made on the word concept, if only because I could rarely afford to try any of the expensive bottles.
Dolce was one such dessert wine whose marketing spoke to me as a casual wine shopper. An epic name, liquid gold color, and dessert wine flavors? I wanted it.
So when I found a bottle on sale in a local liquor store, I had to pick it up to try right away.
When it comes to French Sauvignon Blanc, if you know a bit about regions your mind may first go to Sancerre in the Loire Valley. While this region does make stellar bottles, we often find the prices in the USA to be just a bit more than what we'd prefer for the respective bottles.
Thankfully, Pouilly-Fume nearby also makes some stellar Sauvignon Blanc at, in our limited sampling at least, slightly better quality when comparing two similarly priced bottles. The only downside? They can be quite hard to find in the USA- so whenever we see a bottle we snatch it up right away. Domaine Serge Dagueneau et Filles Pouilly-Fume was no different, and we really could use another bottle of this one in our cellar!
When it comes to thinking about boxed wine, we often remember the lower-quality beverages we had way back in our younger days. As some of the connotations that go along with this packaging medium are generally on the negative side, we've not really rushed to try out any of the new brands pushing boxed wines that have been popping up in recent years.
It wasn't until Gratsi contacted us to see if we wanted to try their Washington-grown Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon that we decided to give boxed wine a chance. All we have to say is if boxed wine was like this when we had it last, we may have not waited so long to try them again.
To be sure, this is table wine. But it is damn good table wine, and at 3L per box provides an ample amount of wine for meals, cooking, and even some sneaky sips here or there all at a respectable price point.
We could get used to that.
For International Sauvignon Blanc Day (the first Friday in May), we were sent a bottle of this delicious varietal from Napa-based St. Supery Winery.
It didn't take long after pouring this estate-grown wine that we knew it was quite the representative Sauvignon Blanc!
Keuka Lake Vineyard is a great spot to hang out for a while, sample some easy-drinking wines, and take in the beauty that is the Finger Lakes.
In fact, when we visited this one in 2020 we had such a great time talking with the owner (who we found out was also from Pittsburgh) that we got another reminder of an aspect of wine that we often do not discuss a lot on this site- the people behind it. Hearing stories of growing up in Pittsburgh, working in Nepal, and more reminded us of how much we love this part of wine tasting.
Naturally, we left with several bottles, and Keuka Lake Vineyard's Sauvignon Blanc Young Block was one such wine. It didn't take long after returning home for us to open this easy-drinking white!
Sancerre, France, is all about Sauvignon Blanc, and we've heard that wines from this region are among the favorites of some of our closest wine friends.
So naturally we picked up our first bottle, Durand Reserve Sancerre 2018, with great anticipation. Unfortunately, the lighter flavor intensity of this one fell a bit flat for us.
