Sauvignon Blanc excellent for beginners
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With its clean, crisp and refreshing character, Sauvignon Blanc is popular among ladies.
The white grape variety is locally translated as chang xiangsi (literally “long yearning”) which vividly shows its distinctive charm.
Wine made from the white grape has easily identifiable aromas, combining green fruit such as apple, lime and pear, with vegetation such as asparagus, grass and elderflower. Sauvignon Blanc under most circumstances grows in cool climates, which gives its wine high acidity and medium body.
Such obvious character makes it listed as one of top three recommendations for wine beginners by many sommeliers and wine educators.
The wine is rarely oaked to avoid an oaky taste overpowering its freshness. There are some exceptions, mostly in New World areas with moderate or warm climates, where the wine is oaked and has flavors of vanilla and spices.
Its classical production area is the Loire Valley, France, especially its two sub-regions, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume. Premium wines there are dry and concentrated, with notes of green fruit and grass and a touch of smoky flavor, which is said to be due to local soils. They also have a comparatively longer shelf life.
Marlborough, New Zealand is now becoming the Loire’s closest challenger. A cool local maritime climate and well-drained soil create a good environment for vines to concentrate flavors so that their wines seem more pronounced and intense with notes of gooseberry and asparagus.
California Sauvignon Blanc, known as Fume Blanc, is largely the child of one of the greatest winemakers, Robert Mondavi (1913-2008), who adventurously aged the grassy wine in barrels and named it Fume Blanc, a wine with notes of tropical fruit. However, some New Zealand-style fresh Sauvignon Blanc also is available in Napa. Other production areas include Casablanca, Chile and South Africa.
Most of the wines made from Sauvignon Blanc are varietal except some in Bordeaux. Some superior white Bordeaux is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, in which the grape adds more acidity and fruitiness.
Such blends are made in the style of dry whites in Graves and Pessac-Leognon, Bordeaux, and in the style of noble rot, a dessert wine in Sauternes, luxuriant and silky, with enjoyable sweetness complemented by acidity.
The wine goes with food easily, pairing well with light food such as white meat and fish.
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