A Taste of Wine
Happy summer!!! The tempera-
ture outside is heating up so my
wines are cooling down. Although
heavy, robust red wines are my
preference, during the summer I
find myself occasionally drawn
to lighter and crisper white wines.
One of my “go-to” white varietals is Sauvignon Blanc.
Its flavor ranges from grassy to mineraly to fruity with
aromas including apples, melons, peppers, and smoke.
Sauvignon Blanc tends to be grassier when picked
early in the season and fruitier when picked later. Sau-
vignon Blanc flavors also depend heavily on where the
grapes are grown. The most famous wines made from
Sauvignon Blanc grapes come from Bordeaux and the
Loire valley in France.
Sauvignon Blanc grapes are used to produce a vari-
ety of different wines. Most wine regions tend to use
the Sauvignon Blanc grapes for basic varietal wines,
labeled “Sauvignon Blanc,” while in France it is com-
mon to find it blended with other grapes to create more
complex flavors. It is, for example, a major component
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June 2017
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in dessert wines from Sauternes as well as dry white
wines from Bordeaux. Further, wine makers can influ-
ence the final product of Sauvignon Blanc through a lot
of different decisions during the wine making process.
French wines made from Sauvignon Blanc tend to be
unoaked, for example, while California Sauvignon
Blanc (often called Fumé Blanc) tends to be oaked to
soften the acidic characteristics. French wine makers
also tend to ferment Sauvignon Blanc in warmer tem-
peratures, which enhances the mineral aspects of the
flavor, while American wineries use colder tempera-
tures to bring out the floral and fruity aspects.
Sauvignon Blanc pairs particularly well with salads.
My husband loves Caesar Salad which is good match
for Sauvignon Blanc, but I prefer chopped Italian salad
with iceberg, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, hearts of
palm, artichoke, shrimp, and an oil/red wine vinegar
dressing.
Happy tasting!
– Nancy Biggs,
Wine Aficionada