Page Two, Food Friendly Wines: Sauvignon Blanc
Recent market surveys have shown that sales of Sauvignon Blanc are growing exponentially. According to wine-industry analyst Eileen Fredrikson of Gomberg Fredrikson, 2007 figures indicate that sales have increased by 1.5 million cases since 2000 in California alone. Sauvignon Blanc’s popularity has been soaring in part because people realize how compatible the wines are with food. That’s due to their high acidity, light to medium body and modest alcohol level. And they have another invaluable attribute: their herbal leanings make them good complements with foods that are notoriously hard to pair with wine. Sauvignon Blancs are definitely worth the small effort they require.
Good Food Partners: Hors d’oeuvres; salads; avocado; fin fish; shellfish (oysters, shrimp, scallops, lobster); sushi; smoked salmon; chicken; veal; turkey; problem (artichokes, asparagus) and non-problem vegetables; grilled food; dishes with cilantro or other herbs; tomato dishes; vegetarian dishes; Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Mexican cuisines; herb sauces; salsa; fried and oily food; goat cheese*
Recommended Wines
Cloudy Bay is the most sought-after Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, and it’s wonderful. But there are many other wonderful choices.
2006 Craggy Range Te Muna Road
2007 Kim Crawford
2007 Dashwood
2006 Glazebrook
Pascal Jolivet consistently makes some of the Loire Valley’s best white wines.
2007 Pascal Jolivet Sancerre
The first wine is a Graves from Denis Dubourdieu, who’s considered by many to be the king of white Bordeaux. The second two are from André Lurton, owner of eleven châteaux in Bordeaux that employ state-of-the-art technology. All are 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Lurton’s Château Bonnet Blanc Entre-Deux-Mers is a perennial favorite, a good-value blend.
2005 Clos Floridene Blanc
2006 Château de Rochemorin
2007 Divinus de Château Bonnet
Once again France’s Languedoc region is a great source of delicious, inexpensive wines.
2007 Réserve St. Martin Vins de Pays d’Oc
California offers many lovely Sauvignon Blancs.
2007 St. Supéry Dollarhide
2006 Flora Springs Soliloquy
2006 Geyser Peak
2006 Sterling Central Coast Vintner’s Collection
2006 39 Degrees (Lake County)
Sauvignon Blancs are Chile’s best white wines. They keep getting better and better and are usually very reasonably priced.
2007 Casa Lapostolle Rapel Valley
2006 Viña Montes Leyda Valley Limited Selection
Sauvignon Blanc is one of South Africa’s strong suits.
2007 Mulderbosch
2007 Indaba
It seems that Australia’s Shaw + Smith always makes an excellent Sauvignon Blanc.
2007 Shaw + Smith
*I suggest that you check the back label and ask for further advice regarding good food matches where you shop.
Food-Friendly Wines, Part One; Sparkling Wines
Award-winning author and certified sommelier Sharon Kapnick has written about food and wine for many magazines, including Time, Portfolio, Food & Wine and Hemispheres, and many newspapers, thanks to the New York Times Syndicate. She contributed several entries for the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.
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