Summertime Sauvignon Blanc (and one Cabernet)

Saturday, June 16th
4:30 - 7:00

The official calendar start of Summer is approaching quickly, and we've already had a number of days that feel like full Summertime heat and humidity.  In days like these, and through the dog days ahead, one of our favorite wines to refresh and quench thirst is Sauvignon Blanc.  It is usually a fairly assertively flavored wine with bright aromatics, often very citrus driven along with other accents as diverse as green apple, fig, pineapple, melon, lemongrass, hay, flint, and wet stone.  Sauvignon Blanc is a white-wine grape from western France, now successfully grown in emerging and established wine regions all over the world.   While the grape may be more readily associated with the Loire Valley (for its pivotal role in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé), it is more likely to have originated from Bordeaux.  It is an adaptable grape, with varying distinctive characteristics based on where it is grown.  It is an excellent grape for expressing different terroirs, and thrives in many of the major wine growing areas around the globe.  Because it ripens early, it can be grown in relatively cool climates, yet its natuarlly high acidicty allows it to retain a level of freshness even in warmer areas.  One of the countries most noted for Sauvignon Blanc in the last few decades is New Zealand, especially the Marlborough region at the northern tip of the South Island. The meteoric rise in popularity and availability of Marlborough 'Savvy', to quote the local colloquialism, was a unprecedented occurrence in the wine world, and shadowed the overall interest in and growth of wine consumption worldwide.  We'll certainly feature a New Zealand example Saturday, along with a true Sancerre, and an excellent example of a South African Sauvignon Blanc which combines some characteristics of the first two.  We'll then look at how similar and different two Sauvignon Blanc can be from areas fairly clost to each other, tasting two California single vineyard examples -  one from Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma and the other from Yountville in Napa Valley.  Since we don't want to leave out our friends who prefer red wines to white wines, we will finish with a nice classic Cabernet Sauvignon, which is fitting as Sauvignon Blanc is one of the genetic 'parent' grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon.  We hope to see you Saturday!

Leefield Station Sauvignon Blanc
Marlborough, New Zealand, 2017

Patient Cottat 'Anciennes Vignes'
Sancerre, France, 2017

Fleur du Cap 'Essence du Cap' Sauvignon Blanc
Western Cape, South Africa, 2017

Kokomo Sauvignon Blanc
Timber Crest Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, 2016

Gamble Family Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc
Gamble Vineyard, Yountville, Napa Valley, 2016

Edge Cabernet Sauvignon
Alexander Valley, Sonoma, 2015