Sauvignon Blanc

Like a lot of domestic wine brands launched over the last couple of years, this group of five is themed around a consistent image, and to my mind clearly is targeted at, or at very least leans strongly toward, the important market of younger women.

The line is called Fresh, all priced very attractively at $11.95 — keep in mind that while younger consumers are looking for value and quality in their wine, they don’t want to be seen to be “cheaping out” with friends.

As soon as you pick up a bottle, you’ll recognize that theme thing. The wine is not identified by the maker (although it is from Birchwood Estates, a small winery under the large Diamond Estates umbrella). Instead, the label simply declares “Fresh,” and bears a stylized picture of a different gerbera daisy for each blend.

It’s also clever that the Fresh winemaker, Tom Green, has gone the blending route, pairing two grapes at a time. I say that because another Niagara Riesling is another Niagara Riesling among hundreds. But team it with Gewürztraminer, and you’ve got a different range of smells and tastes.

'Fresh' wines from Ontario are lively crowd-pleasers - Guelph Mercury

In Australia's vineyards, 72 per cent of vines grow shiraz, cabernet, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc grapes. That leaves 28 per cent for the other 100 or so varieties we grow.

But alternative varieties are thriving, as shown at the 16th Boutique Wine Awards in the other red varieties class. This category is for grape varieties that don't fit into the shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, merlot or blends classes.

This year, 242 shirazes and shiraz viogniers were entered, making up 22 per cent of the total. For other red varietals, 47 wines were entered. But it produced an extraordinary seven gold-medal wines and, even more impressive, the golds were spread across six grape varieties. At least two are extreme rarities in this country - blaufrankisch and tannat. The others were tempranillo, sangiovese, cabernet franc and malbec.

Coolangatta Estate, on the Shoalhaven coast, has won gold before for its tannat but this award, for its '09, confirms the quality coming from the vineyard. It's a big, bold wine, with firm tannins, that does its model in the Old World - southern France's Madiran - proud.

Varietals are the spice of life - Sydney Morning Herald

Twenty years ago, they debated what it should taste like. The purists argued that it was naturally lean and crisp, with hints of minerals, cut grass and even gunflint. Pragmatists countered that, yeah, but we want to make a living, and customers prefer it tasting like ripe pineapples -- in other words, like chardonnay.

The purists seem to be winning. More sauvignon blancs are being made in the leaner style, with cool fermentation and little or no oak barrel aging. These crisp, intensely fruity wines are better than either camp was making two decades ago.

It's a crisp, rich, minerally, grapefruit-on-steroids flavor that easily identifies a wine as from Kiwiland -- and that many California winemakers are replicating.

You'll notice that many of the best sauvignon blancs are bottled with screw caps. These days, that's a sign of quality: The tight caps seal the wines completely from air and preserve their intense fruit.

Crisp, fruity sauvignon blanc hard to beat - MiamiHerald.com

An ideal wine for the heat of summer, Sauvignon Blanc is high in acidity, which is why it's so refreshing. This wine is sometimes quite expensive, especially if you go the California route or look to Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé for their famed world-class juice.  But, if you look beneath the surface, there are stunning Sauvignons to be had without the designer price tags.

Sauvignon Blanc's acid positions itself well with many summertime foods. The rule of thumb is that the acid in wine should be higher than the acid in the accompanying food. This is why wine and vinaigrette clash (for that reason I dress my salads with olive oil, salt, and pepper). Tangy, fresh goat cheese and Sauvignon Blanc is a classic pairing. See my blog post on tomatoes for a simple and elegant idea in this realm.

Another rule to eat by: Match food and wine with similar weight or texture. Think about oysters or a piece of trout. These delicate foods would fail to shine in the company of a rich wine. The fish's subtle composition would get lost. Crisp Sauvignons exaggerate the lean character of food.

The region of Touraine in France's Loire Valley is known as "castle country." The Sauvignons from there boast refreshing grapefruit and gooseberry qualities. They also feature a certain minerality, thanks to the limestone soils. One of my favorites is Domaine Sauvete Touraine '08, Oneiros ($14).

The Perfect Summer Wine (For Under $15 A Bottle) - Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog)

The Yellow + Plus wines, which also includes torrontes and malbec, each come in a 1-liter Tetra Pak, which holds 33 percent more wine than a standard bottle.

This wine has the racy tropical fruit flavors that are quickly making Chile a powerhouse in sauvig­non blanc, and at a very appealing price. Available at City Beverage.

WINE PICKS: Yellow + Blue Sauvignon Blanc - Winston-Salem Journal