Sauvignon Blanc

Ara Pathways Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (Morrisons, £7.99, on offer at £5.99 from 12 July to 8 August) has a voluptuous kind of body that is plump but not flabby.

The aroma is different too, less like gooseberries and green leaves, more a suave scent of tropical fruit with juicy citrus flavours. Try it with healthy, oily fish – especially spanking-fresh grilled mackerel – and see if I’m not right.

Amy De Vine's hot bottle: Ara Pathways Sauvignon Blanc - Daily Mail

Few wines put a quenching squirt on summer heat like a crisp sauvignon blanc. But so many, especially those increasingly popular bottles from New Zealand, go overboard with a sour citrus punch that can taste like a truckload of grapefruit in your glass. A small measure of restraint and balance, then, is exactly what drew me to this refreshing 2008 New Zealander from Martinborough Vineyard. It still has a bracing citrus edge, but it's woven into riper exotic fruits - pineapple and guava - that round the flavor, along with a touch of oak, lending this sauvignon a fuller richness to pair well with food.

It was just perfect for a plate of grilled shrimp and white beans. And with a $7 Pennsylvania discount off the $20 list price, it's also an easy deal. Be sure to check for supplies before heading out to your local State Store - inventory on this bottle is more abundant in the suburbs.

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Martinborough Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from New Zealand - Philadelphia Inquirer

Marlborough region, the 2009 Momo Sauvignon Blanc has lively fruit, notes of flint and stone, and a finish that has you going back to the glass for more.

Marlborough region, the 2009 Momo Sauvignon Blanc has lively fruit, notes of flint and stone, and a finish that has you going back to the glass for more. » Don't miss a thing. Get breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox.

At less than $20, it's still a serious Sauvignon, delicious with chilled soups, seafood platters, composed salads and grilled or broiled fish.

Where to find it: K&L Wine Merchants in Hollywood (323) 464-9463, http://www.klwines.com ; Mission Wines in South Pasadena (626) 403-9463, http://www.missionwines.com ; Vendome Liquors in Fullerton (714) 524-0800; Wally's Wine & Spirits in West Los Angeles (310) 475-0606; http://www.wallywine.com ; and the Wine House in West Los Angeles (310) 479-3731, http://www.winehouse.com.

Wine of the Week: 2009 Momo Sauvignon Blanc - Los Angeles Times

Taxpayers have had an apparently "savvy" decision made on their behalf – they're kicking in $12 million to fund research on sauvignon blanc during the next six years.

The Foundation for Research Science and Technology grant will extend a research project on sauvignon blanc that began six years ago with $9.6m from the Government and $7m from the wine industry.

Details of the new programme are expected to be announced at the industry's three-day national Romeo Bragato Conference, to be held in Blenheim from August 26.

The programme is led by Plant & Food Research, with research continuing at Lincoln and Auckland universities and the Marlborough Wine Research Centre.

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Grüner veltliner (pronounced GROO-ner velt-LEE-ner) is a white Austrian wine often found wedged next to the rieslings in the German section. Don't be fooled - grüner is very little like riesling.

Besides the assumption of sweetness, the problem with selling grüners to local diners is that, on description, they don't sound immediately appealing.

Grüner veltliner may have the herbal or grassy qualities often found in sauvignon blanc, with the body of viognier, a perfumey Rhone white. The fruit flavors in grüner are often citrus, like in a sauv blanc, but also a bit like a red wine, with strawberries, rhubarb, even boxwood. The nose (or smell) is notoriously peppery.

That's one of grüner veltliner's surprise skills - it can enhance difficult-to-pair veggies, like asparagus and artichokes. Another surprise is that the finer "groovies" can age very well. Kwas has tasted vintages more than 20 years old.

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