Sauvignon Blanc: white magic
Stand-alone or boosting a blend, this unforgettable character loves good food and makes good times
Freshly, lively, food-friendly Sauvignon Blanc is among the most instantly recognizable varietals. It flaunts piercing aromas of gooseberry, cut grass, asparagus, flowering currant, green pepper, nettles—and even cat’s pee. This cool climate grape reaches its apex of aromatic intensity and zesty crispness in France’s Loire Valley (showing a minerally, flinty, smoky, lemony character in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé) and in New Zealand (often bursting with ripe tropical fruit flavours in wines of the South Island’s Marlborough region).
In Bordeaux, it is traditionally blended with Sémillon to make less intense whites to go with local fruit de mers, and also sweet, botrytised dessert wine. Use of oak is the exception. Examples of oak aged Sauvignon Blanc include white Graves, a Sémillon blend, and Fumé Blanc, a name invented by Robert Mondavi for oak style Sauvignon Blanc.
Quick facts
- Coined in California in 1981, the term Meritage (pronounced like heritage) is the trademark for wines blended from traditional Bordeaux varieties
- White Meritage is made by blending two or more of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Sauvignon Vert
- Chile’s Casablanca region and South Africa’s Cape region are successful Sauvignon Blanc producers
Best way to enjoy
Food pairings: Loire style with goat’s cheese, asparagus quiche, salad, light fish, oysters; New Zealand style with flavourful seafood, vegetables, pork (slightly sweet and cooked with spices) and Meritage with richly sauced fish dishes, lobster
Temperature: 6-8 C
Type of glass: tulip-shaped wine glass
Read more of the original stories celebrated in our 30th-anniversary issue.
Citizens’ Patrol Bill Reichelt
It’s obvious that Bill Reichelt, president of the Lake Country Citizens’ Patrol Society, has finally found his true calling. Whether settled in his tiny office adjacent to the Lake Country RCMP detachment, buried in statistical forms, stationed on roadside speed watch or cruising Lake Country…
Alaina Podmorow
Lately it’s been a whirlwind of interviews and photo sessions for 15-year old Alaina Podmorow and it’s looking like it won’t stop for awhile. The Lake Country student was recently named Canada’s Top Teen Philanthropist for her efforts to aid women and girls in Afghanistan.
Shop Small Every Day
Think of your average businessperson in the Okanagan Valley for a couple of minutes and you’ll realize they are anything but average. She might have grown up here, started or bought a small business that she runs diligently enough to nourish and care for her family.
Cloggin’ Okanagan
It’s 1812, Lancashire, England. A weaver sits on an old stool over a damp floor, spinning cotton. There are rows of women to her left and rows to the right. The large cotton mill, airy and dark, whirrs and clicks to the spinning of thread. Up from the floor...
Health & Wellness
Feeling great, looking great, enjoying the Okanagan lifestyle. We’ve got the ingredients and expertise to put it all together. Lakeshore Vein & Aesthetics Clinic DermMedica–Kelowna Vein & Skin Solutions Dr. Don MacRae & Associates OKAPED Simply Amazing...
Venus on the Greens
When celebrated LPGA golfer AJ Eathorne joins the pro staff at Predator Ridge in Vernon this season, she’ll also be joining the handful of women golf professionals and professional golf teachers who make their living in the Okanagan. Meet four of these accomplished...
0 Comments