Carpe Vinum Friday Flights! Sauvignon Blanc!
Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!
It’s time to tour the world again and compare the styles of the wonderfully refreshing Sauvignon Blanc grape! It’s been a little while since I did a full varietal tasting, and I think this one is well worth it. Sauvignon Blanc is the grape behind the legendary wines of the French Bordeaux’s most famous Graves and Sauternes, and the French Loire regions of Sancerre and Pouilly Fume. Vine clippings were originally imported to California in 1858 from Chateau Y’Quem by Charles Wente and Louis Mel. I’m not entirely sure who Louis Mel is, but Wente is most likely the founder of Wente Vineyards. Just a hunch.
For quite a while the grape was the most widely planted white varietal in California, until the grape went out of fashion in the early 1960’s. That was probably the same time Chardonnay had its boom. So in a traditional Californian winery way, they changed the name of the grape on the bottle to Fume Blanc as a marketing technique. (Started by Robert Mondavi. . .big surprise.) And it worked. Most people forgot why they weren’t buying Sauvignon Blanc in the first place. . .but Fume just sounds tastier, doesn’t it? At any rate, just changing that one word revitalized the grape, and wineries worldwide are producing a whole plethora of these wonderful wines. And like snowflakes, no two are alike. Also like snowflakes, they’re cold. And unlike snowflakes, you can find them here during the heat of the summer. Hm. Snow on the brain. . .must be the heat.
So here is a tour of the world Sauvignon Blanc style!
So Friday, August 20th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:
Sauvignon Blanc!
Fidelitas 2002 Tranquility, Columbia Valley, Washington
Thieuley 2002 Blanc, Bordeaux, France
Kanu 2003 Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Sacred Hill 2003 Sauvignon Blanc, East Coast, New Zealand
Nepenthe 2003 Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, Australia
The Extra-Special Premium Pours:
Pierpaolo Pecorari 2001 Sauvignon, Isonzo Del Friuli IGT, Italy
Goosecross 2002 Sauvignon Blanc, Central Coast, California
A good deal at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.
Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
Next week is Wines of the French Loire!
M