Sauvignon Blanc – The Flavor of Green

Sauvignon Blanc is a white wine best known for its strong aroma. While the strength of the scent does turn some people off, the taste of Sauvignon Blanc wine can be different and delightful.

Sauvingnon Blanc has tart green flavor is reminiscent of lime, melon, fig or guava, but its scent is definitely green and almost herbal. It is a wine with a fairly high acidity and a very crisp flavor.

Sauvignon Blanc is growing in popularity, primarily because it is different from most popular wines. Some of the finest varieties of this wine come from California’s Napa and Sonoma Valleys, Chile’s Casablanca Valley, France’s Loire, New Zealand and South Africa.

The limestone soils in some regions where the Sauvignon grapes add a slight mineral flavor to the wine, which some people think tastes slightly chalky or smokey. This grape tends to easily pick up flavors from the minerals in the soil where it is grown.

The New Zealand varieties of Sauvingnon Blanc are particularly interesting because they tend to taste a taste a bit like kiwi.

This grape is grown throughout the USA, but the most noteworthy varieties tend to be from California, particularly when it is produced in the cooler regions, such as the Sonoma and Napa Valleys.

Some varieties are fermented in oak barrels to give the wine a bit of richness, but most are aged in stainless steel vats to preserve the fresh flavors. Unoaked American varieties include Frog’s Leap, Matanzas Creek, Cakebread and Chateau Souverain. Oaked varieties include Chateau St. Jean’s Fumé Blanc, Dry Creek Vineyards and Robert Mondavi.

If you are getting a bit bored with standard wine flavors, give Sauvignon Blanc a try. While you might not wish to drink it with every meal, it does give your taste buds an nice treat whenever you are looking for something a little bit different. You will find this wine in a wide variety of prices, but most bottles tend to be in the $10 to $20 range.