Sauvignon Blanc

This week, I'm going to review several wines that have made it into the tasting lounge recently. There are no themes or regions to the review; they simply reflect a typical work week for me in tasting wines as wine agency representatives make appointments or show up with wines for me to sample.

The wines reviewed are ones I found most interesting and worthy of adding to this column. These wines are available at BC Liquor Stores or, increasingly, at private retailers throughout the province.

First up is a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. The Reserva Castillo de Molina 2009, Elqui Valley ($19) shows a clear, pale yellow hue and on the nose enticing fragrances of lemon grass, tropical fruits and lemon peel. A bold entry on the palate, I enjoyed the full-bodied nature of this wine. The acidity levels are not too high for a typical Sauvignon Blanc, so this wine should appeal to beginner wine drinkers.

The Castillo de Molina, Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Central Valley in Chile ($19) has subdued red berry aromas and a bouquet of tobacco, cedar and earthiness, well-constructed tannin integration and a pleasant taste overall. It is dry and medium-bodied in structure.

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Every week I have the unenviable task of sampling a wine with a wine representative in order to bring you a cross section of wine to suit all prices and tastes in an easily digestible format (a tough assignment, I know).

The Vicar’s Choice Sauvignon Blanc is certainly no exception. This delicious wine has crisp fruit flavours of passionfruit, grapefruit and gooseberry.

The fruit for this wine was sourced from several vineyards with different sub regions throughout Marlborough with the most significant portion coming from the prestigious lower Wairau area. This area is renowned for its concentration of aromas and fruit, with the balance coming from the classic Rapaura area. The fruit was carefully monitored throughout maturity and harvested once it had reached optimum flavour development and ripeness. The fruit was then transported to the winery and pressed off with minimal skin contact. The resulting juice was cool fermented in stainless steel to retain freshness and zing.

The comment from the other half of my tasting panel (Brian), whose preference is sauvignon blanc, gave this wine a definite high rating. He describes it as leaping out of the glass. It is also a very good price.

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These refreshing wines are terrific values, offering crisp, clean flavors at less than $10 a bottle. They are perfect for this time of year, when we suffer through oppressive heat.

The Xplorador label comes from the respected Concha y Toro family of wines. The wine delivers at a level far beyond what you would expect at this price. Each wine is typical of its varietal, presenting the more pleasing aspects of the grape.

The Chardonnay is a vibrant yellow with aromas of tropical fruit. It's a medium-bodied wine that doesn't overpower you. The rich flavors are smooth tropical fruit with a crisp, pleasant finish. It's a well-rounded wine, aged for two months in stainless steel tanks.

The Sauvignon Blanc is a sharper wine, green-yellow in color with citrus aromas. There is plenty of acid to balance the lemon and grapefruit flavors. It is a bit lighter than the Chardonnay and works better as an appetizer wine. The wine undergoes a swift fermentation process for two months in stainless steel tanks.

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How about a wine to have after - for safety reasons - mowing the lawn? When you say grass, the first grape to come to mind is sauvignon blanc, which is herbaceous by nature. It often smells like lemon grass and nettle. It's light, refreshing and a great choice for cooling off in lieu of a malted beverage.

There's no shortage of sauvignon blanc. You can easily find one in almost any style from around the world. As a grape, sauvignon blanc can make good wines at low prices.

The most intense sauvignon blancs come from New Zealand, where they show an intense kiwi-grapefruit character bordering on pine resin. Sauvignon blanc's homeland in France's Loire Valley - places such as Sancerre, Quincy and Pouilly-Fumé - offer more elegant, minerally and zesty wine. Sauvignon blanc is a key component of white Bordeaux, combined with the semillon for texture to make balanced wines.

Sauvignon blancs from the United States and South America are often somewhere in between. But no matter where the bottle of sauvignon blanc originates, it's at home in the summer. On porch or patio, they take the edge off high temperatures. But they also match with a range of summer foods. Any chicken or fish with fresh herbs and a squirt of lemon would welcome a sauv blanc.

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I get such a kick out of dinner parties. I always bring several kinds of wine, never two or three bottles of the same thing. It's just plain fun to share different wines with friends, exploring varietals, regions and styles.

Recently, I was lucky enough to get an invitation from Lois and Dave Zuckerman, who told me they'd be grilling fish at their home in Creve Coeur. Lois is a fan of Sauvignon Blanc, so the party seemed like a great time to try wines made from that varietal but grown in different places.

I visited Grapevine Wines, 309 South Kirkwood Road in Kirkwood, and bought three Sauvignon Blancs, one each from France, New Zealand and Chile.

Sauvignon Blanc originates in the Bordeaux region of France. The name comes from the French words 'sauvage" (wild) and "blanc" (white), due to its origins as an indigenous grape in the Loire Valley and Bordeaux. Today, the grape is grown in many parts of the world. Wines made from Sauvignon Blanc can differ so greatly in taste and style that they have inspired a wide range of colorful descriptions, including "cat pee," which oddly enough is considered a good thing, as well as herbaceous, grassy, minerally, citrusy and tropical.

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