Types of Wine Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc

Ep 104

What if I told you there’s a white wine that makes “cat pee” an absolute compliment? And you might already have a bottle of it chilling in your fridge!

Today, I am continuing my Grape Deep Dive Mini-Series and it’s all about Sauvignon Blanc. The first wine I really fell in love with was the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from Noblio. It’s such a fresh, easy drinking wine!

We are digging deep into the key viticultural and winemaking factors that shape Sauvignon Blanc’s character, as well as soil types and the diverse styles that emerge from different regions. 

I’ll touch on Sauvignon Blanc hotspots like France’s Loire Valley and Bordeaux, New Zealand’s Marlborough region, California’s Sonoma Valley, Stellenbosch, South Africa, Casablanca Valley & Leyda Valley, Chile, and Adelaide Hills Australia.

We will finish it off with some tips on what food to pair with Sauvignon Blanc, whether or not Sauvignon Blanc should be aged, and what you should expect to pay for a bottle.

So, if you are ready to discover why Sauvignon Blanc is such a global favorite and find out which regions, winemaking style, and food pairings work best, then this episode is for you!

Types of wine grapes episodes

Chardonnay - https://www.corkandfizz.com/blog/guide-to-wine-podcast-episode-6

Cabernet Franc - https://www.corkandfizz.com/blog/guide-to-wine-podcast-episode-14

Chenin Blanc - https://www.corkandfizz.com/blog/guide-to-wine-podcast-episode-21

Riesling - https://www.corkandfizz.com/blog/guide-to-wine-podcast-episode-38

Barbera - Episode 45

Merlot - Episode 57

Best Italian Dessert Wines - Episode 101

Episode Highlights:

• Overview of Sauvignon Blanc
• Viticulture and grape characteristics
• Unique aromas and chemical compounds of Sauvignon Blanc
• Structure of Sauvignon Blanc
• Terroir factors affecting Sauvignon Blanc
• Winemaking styles and techniques of Sauvignon Blanc
• Notable Sauvignon Blanc regions and the

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Transcript

0:09

Interested in learning about wine, but not sure where to start? You're in the right place. Welcome to the Cork and Fizz Guide to Wine podcast. I'm your host, Haley Bullman, and I'm so glad you're here. I'm a wine enthusiast turned wine educator and founder of the Seattle based wine tasting business Cork and Fizz. It is my goal to build your confidence in wine by making it approachable and lots of fun. You can expect to learn everything from how to describe your favorite wine to what to pair with dinner tonight and so much more. Whether you're a casual wine sipper or a total cork dork like myself, this podcast is for you. So grab yourself a glass and let's dive in. Hello, and welcome back to the Cork and Fizz Guide to Wine. Today, we are going back to an old little mini series. I guess it at this point, I'm just gonna keep adding to it, so it's going to get much bigger. But it's the grape deep dive series. So when we choose a grape that is very common or uncommon in the wine world and kinda dive into it, learn a little bit more about it. And if it's one that is found in many places, learn about all the different places that it is made. And so as I'm recording this, it is a beautiful sunny spring day, and it is definitely getting me in the vibe for summer. And I know this is going to be releasing in, like, late spring ish, getting us into summer. So I figured what better grape to talk about than Sauvignon Blanc. I feel like this is, like, the spring summer grape, and it is, of course, a favorite of many, and it is a considered a noble grape. It is, you know, at the top of the list, and it has grown nearly everywhere around the world. So I'll start you off. Before we kinda dive into all the little nitty gritty details of this, I thought it'd be fun to kinda share my Sauvignon Blanc story and how I first learned about Sauvignon Blanc and really got into it. One of my favorite wines before I really got into wine was a Sauvignon Blanc. It was a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc by the producer Nobilo, And I actually can remember the very first time that I tried this wine. My husband and I had moved to Seattle. We were still living in the apartment, so that meant it was within, like, the first year that we had moved to Seattle. And his parents were in Portland, but they came up to visit. And then we went out to visit, like, some distant family of his. I honestly, this is the only time I think I've ever met them. But they lived somewhere near Seattle, and they invited us to their home, which was beautiful. And they grilled out, and they served nobbilo sauvignon blanc at the table. And I just remember loving it. It was such a fresh, easy drinking wine that I took a picture of it. So then that way, when I went to the grocery store, I could pick it up. And then that kind of basically started a little habit of, like, every time I was at the grocery store, I grabbed a bottle of Nobilo because we would drink it with dinner one of the nights that week and, like, just continue to do that. That was the wine that I always had in my fridge. And so Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc will always have a special place in my heart. I honestly which is funny. I don't drink a lot of Sauvignon Blanc now, but I actually just did a court crew tasting all about these two Sauvignon Blancs from Loire Valley. So I have had to taste of those, and I was reminded of, oh, how fresh and delicious and fun and how perfect for warm weather Sauvignon Blanc is. So all that said, let's dive in to the nitty gritty and learn more about Sauvignon Blanc. Just a quick reminder, you are not on my mailing list yet. What are you waiting for? I would love for you to join. When you do, you'll get a free shopping guide that has 15 of my favorite wines under $15. Head to corkandfizz.com, scroll down to the bottom, and there'll be a little section where you can join the mailing list. I send out a weekly newsletter filled with wine tips, recommendations, special offers, and so much more. Now let's get back to the show. So starting off, Sauvignon Blanc is considered an aromatic white grape. Basically, I mean, it just produces a lot of aromas, and it originated in the Loire Valley of France. The Loire Valley is located on the Western Side of France, kind of like North Central area. It starts along the Atlantic Ocean, and then it comes in towards the middle of the country until you reach basically almost the middle of France. Most of Sauvignon Blanc is more inland, so it's not right along the coast. Sauvignon Blanc itself, the name is derived from the French word savage, which means wild, savage. Right? As the vines are very reminiscent of wild grape vines. They will just do their thing if you let them. And fun fact on Sauvignon Blanc, it is actually a parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. So when you're creating a new grape, one way to do that is for one grape to, essentially fertilize the other a different type of grape. And so this happened with Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc, and together, they created Cabernet Sauvignon, which I feel like for a lot of people that, like, is considered, like, the dominant grape or, like, the top grape. So it's, like, funny to think that, like, Sauvignon Blanc actually came first. In terms of the viticulture, just in case you wanna get into the details on the grapes and the vines, reminder that grapevines, any wine grapevines are dormant over the winter, so they kinda look dead, but they're not. They're just like sleeping. And the first sign of life is usually bud break in the spring. And surprisingly, Sauvignon Blanc develops their buds quite late. But the thing is that they ripen early, and that's how it works out, and that's how we don't get it. There is a really strong acidity in sauvignon blanc, but it's not overwhelming. And, technically, sauvignon blanc is best grown in cool and moderate climates, though it can accommodate itself, I guess. Like, how do I wanna say that? It can it can adapt. That's the word I'm looking for. It can adapt to warmer climates if it is encouraged, I suppose you could say. The wine itself, again, is just very fresh, easy drinking. A lot of times I think of it as the perfect summer wine. For flavors, I'm gonna wait to tell you, like, a lot of the different flavors because I think it depends on where the grapes were grown and where you're getting your Sauvignon Blanc from. But there are two really unique aromas that you can find in your Sauvignon Blanc, and they actually come from chemical compounds that are found in the wine itself and in the thing that it smells like. This will make sense when I tell you what they are. So the first one is this very green aromatic, and I always call it that, but the I think another way to think of it is like green bell pepper, also pea sprout, like just this very vegetal kind of smell. And that comes from a compound called methoxypyrazines or just pyrazines for short. And these pyrazines are also found in green bell pepper, believe it or not, which is so cool that, like, that's why you're getting that smell. It does not mean that there's green bell pepper in your wine. It just means that compound shows up in both of those. And this is important to know because I'm gonna tell you the next thing that shows up and you're gonna be like, oh my gosh. Is that in my wine? It's not. Don't worry. But a real tasting note for Sauvignon Blanc is cat pee. Yes. I did just say cat pee. That is what your wine could smell like. And this is caused by a unique chemical compound called four m m p. I'm sure it has a long name, but I am I didn't even bother looking it up because I knew I couldn't say it. So it's just four m m p, and it is literally a compound that is found in both Sauvignon Blanc and in cat pee. Again, I promise there is no cat pee in your wine. It is just a compound that is found in both, and so it gives off that smell. Other common aromas is this pronounced minerality. And remember when we think of minerality smells, it's like the smell of a waterfall hitting the rocks or the smell of the pavement after it's just rained. And then we also have these fresh fruit flavors. What kind of fruit? That will depend on where the grapes were grown. And all of this, all of the flavor, and honestly, even the structure of the wine, which I'm gonna talk about next, it's very dependent on the terroir. And that is, again, that fancy French word that means the place where it's grown. And so there are a lot of things we could say about Sauvignon Blanc, but in the end, if we had, you know, six to 10 different Sauvignon Blancs in front of you all from different places, they are all going to taste different. And not only that, but also wine making styles can affect the type of Sauvignon Blanc and the flavors that you get, and we're gonna talk about that. But first, for the structure of a Sauvignon Blanc, typically, even, you know, across the board, no matter what you do, you're going to get a natural high acidity. Typically, you're gonna find that Sauvignon Blancs are lighter bodied, lower alcohol. They can have a hint of residual sugar, but that high acidity is gonna keep it from going sweet. You're not even going to notice. It might give it, like, a slight richness, but, again, you might not even notice. Unless, of course, you're blending it with Semillon and making Sauternes in Bordeaux, and we'll talk more on that later. But, again, structure depends on terroir, and it depends on winemaking styles. Now a couple different things. When we keep saying terroir, terroir is like the place and where the grapes were grown. Right? And there are a lot of different things that can contribute to that. So a couple of those things I'm gonna talk about, the elevation, the climate, and even the type of soil that the grape vines are grown in. So for elevation, any grape vines that are grown, at least let's say 600 to a thousand meters above sea level, they're gonna produce wines with this very pronounced freshness and vibrancy. Now when we're talking about climate, a warmer climate, you're gonna get more tropical fruit, higher alcohol, and richer mouthfeel. Generally, again, you could probably find a wine that proves me wrong very easily on this. So, like, keep in mind, these are very, very general. Now cooler climate, you're gonna have more citrus, lower alcohol, and you're more likely to have those mineral notes. Remember that, like, waterfall or the pavement after it's rained. It's just a little fresher, a little less sweet fruit. Okay. And now this is the total, like, I'm gonna dork out for a second. Feel free to just, like, daydream for the next, like, thirty seconds because I'm gonna tell you a little bit about different soil types and how they affect the wine. And if you're like, oh my gosh, you're getting way too deep for me. That's okay. Just keep listening. We'll we'll get back into certain styles into that. But if you wanna dork out with me, listen in. Let's talk about the different soils. So Sauvignon Blanc isn't picky. It doesn't need a specific soil to grow in. So some examples of soils that has grown in and then how it affects it. So first, you could have a loamy soil. This is a well draining soil. It's rich in nutrients, and it's often found in the premium wine growing region and supports the grapes growth while preserving its natural acidity. Now you could also have it growing in gravel, and this is found in a lot of areas of Bordeaux. And gravel, again, it aids in drainage and it reflects heat. So it assists in the grapes ripening process. So you're gonna get some good fruit flavor from that, and it's okay if it's a cooler climate where they bud late because this the gravel is gonna help reflect the sun and the warmth, and so those grapes will ripen by the time that you need to pick them and make the wine. Now you'll also find clay. This is prominent in parts of the Loire Valley. And speaking of soil in the Loire Valley, we're gonna get a little deeper when we get to the Loire Valley, so hold on to your riches. But in Loire Valley, we have a lot of clay rich soil. They tend to produce wines with a fuller bodied and, again, that pronounced minerality. Then we have silt and silt is a fine grain soil. It offers good water retention, so it leads to richer, more aromatic wines. And then finally, you have chalk, and this is predominant in the region of Sancerre, which is in the Loire Valley. And chalky soils give it this the wine a really nice crispness and a certain kind of finesse in aromas. I think a lot of times Sancerre is described as elegant. And I know that, like, doesn't mean anything, but I think when you try it and then try something else that's maybe a little bigger, a little bolder, it does make sense a little bit. Maybe. Maybe not all the time. But to me, thinking of a wine as elegant is that kind of crispness and it's really finesse. Like, it's not hitting you across the face with a lot of flavor, but the more you taste it and the more you dive into it, you start to pull things out of it. And chalk soil is what kind of produces a Sauvignon Blanc that does that. Now we also mentioned that winemaking style can affect the type of Sauvignon Blanc that you have and the flavors and the structure. So most Sauvignon Blanc is made using stainless steel fermentation. And so this basically means that when they are fermenting the grapes, so when they're letting the yeast heat the sugar and produce the alcohol, they're doing this inside stainless steel tanks. And what this does is it preserves the natural acidity and the vibrant fruit flavor. It does not add any flavor, which oak would do, and it also doesn't, like, let the wine oxidize as much. Like, it has no contact with oxygen when it's in that stainless steel tank. So it really showcases the varietals true expression. You get a lot of fresh and zesty flavors. And that's honestly a big reason why sauvignon blanc is known for these flavors as well because that's the style that they make it in. Now you can do other things when making sauvignon blanc. You do have the option of using oak barrels. You can use them for fermentation or for aging. So fermentation, again, is when they, you know, go from grape juice to wine, but you can age Sauvignon Blanc for a little bit of time in an oak barrel. And what this will do is it adds complexity and texture. It can also, if it's a newer barrel, impart flavors of vanilla, spice, and toast, and again, give it that kind of creamy mouthfeel. Oak barrels with your Sauvignon Blanc, you might see this more in Bordeaux, and you might also see this more in California as well as this is a style that I've seen there. Another option that will affect the style of wine is Lee's aging. And when I say Lee's, it is l e e s. And lees are essentially dead yeast cells. So once the fermentation process has finished, the yeast has eaten all of the sugar and it's produced alcohol. There's no more sugar for the yeast to eat. They die and they become lees. And there is an option with some wines that you can leave them in contact with the lees, and Sauvignon Blanc is one of those wines. It'll add this layer of richness and complexity. And this technique is often used in Bordeaux and Passac L'Egnon and also in Pois Fume, but this is in the Loire Valley. And this is where they're trying to get a little bit more of a fuller bodied and enhanced mouthfeel. It can also add a few flavors like subtle, nutty, yeasty kind of bread, fresh baked bread notes to the wine. And then lastly, less commonly found with Sauvignon Blanc, but it definitely happens. Well, I shouldn't say so one of them is blending. So you can blend it with other grapes. And I shouldn't say that's less common. I mean, you do see it, and it does blend well with other grapes. You probably see it the most in Bordeaux where it is blended with Semillon and Muscadelle, and it creates wines with you know, you can get more complexity. You can get more balance because you're adding different grapes and different wines that are known for different things to that. And we'll talk about this more in the Bordeaux section is typically a Sauternes is a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Lastly, there is an option to do skin contact with a Sauvignon Blanc wine, and that is remember. So most of the time when you're making a white wine, you're going to press the juice off of the grapes, off of the grape skins, I should say, and then you're gonna get rid of the grape skins. You do not want that. You're gonna get rid of those. But with skin contact, you're gonna leave that juice in contact with the skins and the seeds, and it can add these additional flavors, different aromas. A lot of times, they go a little funky. This is what an orange wine is. It is a skin contact white wine, and it just adds this complexity and texture. Sometimes it works. I will also admit that sometimes it does not, at least in my opinion. Okay. That'll be kind of an idea of all the different types of Sauvignon Blancs we could make. Let's dive into some popular regions for if you wanna try some Sauvignon Blanc. Hey, wine lover. Interested in trying new wines but not sure where to start? Or maybe you've been thinking, I'd love to taste wine live with Haley. I mean, who isn't thinking that? Well, say hello to the Court Crew, my virtual tasting club where wine meets fun, learning, and the best happy hour you've ever had, all from the comfort of your couch. Every month, we explore a new wine theme together. You'll get expert tips, delicious food pairings, and stories that bring each bottle to life. You can order the feature wines from my partner shop, grab something similar locally, or just sip whatever you've already got. No pressure and no wine purchase required in this club. In 2025, I've made this club even better. You get to choose between two tasting dates each month and everything is recorded so you can catch up any time. 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Cheers. First, we gotta talk about its homeland. Let's talk about the Loire Valley in France. In the Loire Valley, this wine is gonna be very food friendly, just like most wines from France. The idea is essentially that you're not drinking it unless you have food in front of you. And we'll talk about some pairings at the very end of this episode. The Loire has a cooler climate, so you're going to expect higher acidity, lighter bodied. They do not add any or they do not leave behind any residual sugar, I should say, and they also don't add sugar. So these are considered dry wines most often. Common flavors. So if you're looking for one from the Loire Valley, you might get flavors like grapefruit. So that's the fruit that you're getting and sometimes guava, so it can go a little tropical. Then you're getting this, minerality and almost flinty or smokey, and then also this green note of freshly mowed grass. And the main area so Loire Valley is in France. And in France, they typically like to label their wine by region remember. Right? Even Loire Valley is a region, but we need to even go deeper into that and get to sub regions within Loire Valley for when you're looking for these wines to give them a try. The top two Sauvignon Blancs from Loire Valley are Sancerre and Pouilly Fumet. And these are two regions that are just on opposite sides of the Loire River, and they are further, like the furthest inland for the most part in the Loire Valley. Huey Fume, if you hear that Fume, that is actually smoke. And that is what that region was named after because that region produces a Sauvignon Blanc that is fairly smoky in aroma. And then Sancerre is known very well known for their Sauvignon Blanc. It is the only white that they make. They do make some like reds from Pinot Noir. But typically, when people talk about a Sancerre, they are talking about Sauvignon Blanc. You can also get Sauvignon Blanc in, two other regions in the, like, Far East of Loire Valley, and that would be Ruyi and Quincy. And then you can also find some really affordable, like, you're probably gonna have to pay at least 30 doll maybe 25 to $30 for a bottle. Hui Fume is also gonna be up there. The other two, Rui and Quincy, maybe not so much. But ture, you can easily get a great bottle for, like, $15.16 dollars. It's just not as well known. It's not that it's not good. Okay. And then I also mentioned we were gonna dive a little deeper into soil types. This is mainly because I just did that court crew tasting. Then we actually got to try we tried a Sancerre and a Touraine right next to each other, And it was really fun to notice the differences and then also realize that, like, the winemaking styles had such an impact on this even as much as the soil type did. It was a really, really fun class, and that's honestly why I had to tell you a little bit more about the soils in the Loire Valley. Because because we had to do the research. I had to do it anyway, so I might as well tell you about it. So in the Loire Valley, specifically, some different soil types we're looking at. So you have, Pere Blanche, and this is essentially it means white earth. And it specifically has this type of limestone called a Himergean limestone. It's this marl limestone that is really slow to warm, and it lends to this richness and texture in the wines. Then you have coyote soil, and this is a Portlandian limestone or Oxfordian limestone. And, again, stony. This is quick to warm, so you get more of a lean early maturing wine with very vibrant notes of stone fruit. Then you have sillex or flint, and this is rocky with flint and clay. This soil, like the terra blanche, the white earth, is slower to warm. So you get this richness and texture, but also because of the flint, you get this reductive character, and that's that smoke and that gun flint. And then you will also find a lot of sand sandy soil in the Loire Valley, but that is primarily used for red grapes. So that's where they're growing Pinot Noir, and they're making these lightly colored fruity red and rose wines. Okay. Our next region is we're staying in France, One more region in France, and that is Bordeaux. So in Bordeaux, you're gonna have more floral flavors. We have honeysuckle, beeswax, lemongrass, and the fruit is more like stone fruit, like peach. And we'll also have a little salinity note from the soil, which is interesting because you're nowhere you're not really near the ocean. Bordeaux is fairly continental, but this is coming from the soil. Now in Bordeaux, you're gonna find Sauvignon Blanc often blended with Semillon. They also are gonna do a lot of that lees contact. Remember, l e e s, those are the dead yeast cells, which add, you know, more of a richer mouthfeel. They might also do barrel aging here, and this is how they get that rich flavor like the honeysuckle and the white peach. Now Sauvignon Blanc, I usually think of as being very affordable, and that is 100% true. But, of course, everything can get expensive in Bordeaux. Not every Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux is expensive. I mean, you can get a lot of great Bordeaux Blanc is what it will typically be called. You won't see Sauvignon Blanc on the label. It'll say Bordeaux Blanc, and you can get them for, like,$15.20 dollars easy, and they're great. But there are some famous examples like Chateau Haute Briand Blanc, and that is a thousand dollars per bottle, at least at the time that I did the research for this. So who knows? It could have gone up from there. I also mentioned earlier that Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc can be blended together, and then they actually create this sweet wine called Sauternes. And I've probably talked about it. I feel like I had a sweet wine podcast. I'll look and put it in the show notes for you if I find it, that talks more about this wine, which is made from grapes that literally have rot on them, which is wild, and it is so cool. And part of that wine is Sauvignon Blanc, which I think nobody would guess, but it helps out so much with the sweetness. It has such a bright acidity that it makes for a really perfectly balanced dessert wine. Alright. Now if we're moving out of France, the next place that most people will think of when we think of Sauvignon Blanc, and honestly, they probably thought of this before France, is New Zealand. So here, the flavors you're gonna get, passion fruit, guava, lime, green pepper. You can get a little bit of that, note, remember, gooseberry, which I have never had a gooseberry, but everybody who tells me that they've ever smelled a gooseberry, they're like, that is Sauvignon Blanc. So I kept it in here just in case you've ever had a gooseberry and you know what those smell like. You can also get kiwi and our favorite tasting note or aroma note for Sauvignon Blanc, cat pee is also somewhat common in a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon Blanc is grown all over both the North And South Island Of New Zealand, but it's most famous from the region of Marlborough, which is on the Northern Tip of the Southern Island. The wines from this region can be razor sharp. It is normal to see a gram or two of residual sugar in these wines in particular because the acidity is so high. But again, remember, with the acidity so high, you're not gonna taste it. It's like a good glass of lemonade, almost like a tart lemonade where you can add sugar, but that acidity covers up the sugar. Now New Zealand is considered a new world region. Remember when we say old world, it means pretty much anywhere in Europe versus, new world is anywhere outside of Europe. And, typically, newer world regions tend to be a little warmer, a little more fruit forward in their wine making, but New Zealand is actually still a cooler climate. It is the coolest maritime climate in the new world. No vineyard is more than 80 miles from the sea, so that has a huge effect on this. One thing on why they can ripen the grapes as well as they can for being so cool is they have a long growing season. This gives the grapes time to ripen fully, and they experience nearly twice the UV radiation as any other grape growing region due to this unusually thin ozone layer. So it results in really high sun exposure for the grapes, which helps them ripen. One of the main climate concerns in New Zealand is lots of rain. This can lead to moldy grapes and not the good kind of mold that we use when we make that sweet wine in Bordeaux, but the kind that can result in this stewed green vegetable taste in the wine. And we we definitely don't want that. So one of the solutions that they found was to develop a new trellising system. So that's basically how, like, when you think of trellis, I think the trellising system that's the most common is like the t version where the trunk of the grapevine goes up, and then the branches of the vine go out in like a t shape and then follow the trellis. But here, they made a different version and did different viticulture techniques to promote ripeness and maturity, which led to this fresh, ripe, green flavor in the wine and not that stewed green vegetable that we don't want. There are a lot of mountains in New Zealand, but unfortunately, most of them are too steep and they have too much erosion to grow grapes on. So most of the vineyards are actually planted on flat plains or rolling hills. There are various soil types in New Zealand. I'm not gonna go over all of them this time around, but I can in a specific news with an episode if you're interested. But the reason for this is because it's on an active juncture of two major tectonic plates. So, I mean, the three soils you'll get there, you got clay, volcanic, and river basin happening. Okay. Now let's talk about Sauvignon Blanc from the Sonoma Valley in California. Now California Sauvignon Blanc is still remarkably underappreciated. I think across the world, and I think in The US, we definitely see it a lot, but we also always think of, oh, California Chardonnay. But what about California Sauvignon Blanc? The top examples from California can rival white Bordeaux and their sophistication and their aging potential. Sauvignon blanc does not age usually, but if you can make it right and if it's grown in a special way, you can age it. A lot of these examples are racy, they're keen edged, and they're refreshing. And again, they're good with food. They're kind of following that European style. And also there was a recent quality shift. So historically Sauvignon Blanc used to be more expensive to grow than Chardonnay. This was basically because remember when I said, like, that it's the name comes from Sauvage, Savage. It's wild. So they had to cannulally train it onto the trellis. They had to trim it all the time. It just took a lot of extra manpower and labor, But now growers are willing to commit those financial resources to do that because one, wineries pay more for the Sauvignon Blanc now, and two, the public demands it. People are loving Sauvignon Blanc. So if you're a Sauvignon Blanc lover, you are certainly not alone. One thing you may see on a California Sauvignon Blanc, and this actually comes from the Sonoma Valley in California, is Fumet Blanc, which sounds a lot like the. Right? And this is actually what the reference was too. It was coined in 1960 by Dry Creek Vineyard, and it was made popular by Robert Mondavi. This typically means that the Sauvignon Blanc used new oak, especially nowadays if people are using the term Fumet Blanc. They may be telling you, hey. This is done in a more traditional California style, which means that it had some new oak on it. But it's not a regulated term so that there's no I'm not guaranteeing that, but it's more like just a heads up. If you say, from somewhere in California, it is likely a little bit richer, potentially has those oaky flavors. Not a bad thing, just good to know about. California Sauvignon Blanc, depending on where you're getting it from, gonna make a big difference. But if we're talking about Sonoma in particular, you're gonna have passion fruit, pear, fresh herbs, and wet rocks, which I know that sounds weird, but it's an aroma, not a taste. Right? No one's out there tasting wet rocks. It has higher acidity and then medium bodied, so a little bit more body, a little bit more weight to it than our cooler regions. This area does experience early morning fog and a diurnal shift. So remember that's where the temperature is much different at night than it is during the daytime temperature drops a bunch. So it's not just a warm climate area. They do have these cooler influences. Okay. I think I have two more regions to talk to you about. So the first one is Stellenbosch, South Africa, and South Africa is an incredibly climatically diverse region. We should spend an entire podcast talking about even just parts of it. And there's really every kind of style of Sauvignon Blanc in South Africa, everything from super dry and crazy acidic to a more lush and fruity fuller bodied flavor. I don't know if I had I'm sure I've had a Sauvignon Blanc from Stellenbosch, South Africa, but I don't remember it much. But reading from a lot of other people's reviews, it appears to be very similar to a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. So you're gonna get flavors like green apple, lime. Again, that gooseberry is coming up, the kiwi, and then some wet rock as well here. Okay. Last regions, these technically, it's two more regions, but they're both in Chile, and this is Casablanca Valley and Leida Valley. Now, specifically, Leida, I had to mention this in here. There is such a distinct aroma I can remember from a blind tasting I did, and this was, like, one of the wines that I 100% got. I got the grape and I got where it was from because it was so clear because I'd had a wine that had the same note before, and this was exactly where it's from. It was a note of jalapeno, Like, not even green bell pepper, jalapeno pepper. And I'd had that once before. It was a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. So when I was doing this blind tasting, I was like, I got this one. This one is very obviously a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, and I was right. It was specifically from the La Leda Valley. Now both Casablanca and La Leda Valley, they're located along the Pacific Coastline. They have the Humboldt Current, morning fog, and granite soils that all shape the flavor and profile of these wines. Chile is also famous for their organic, biodynamic, and regenerative agriculture practices that they do, and and so that has a major impact on the Sauvignon Blanc that they're making and also has an interest in a lot of people who are looking for more organic and biodynamic wines and care about these things. And Chile is honestly leading the charge in that. Now going a little deeper into each of these valleys, Casablanca, cool climate, coastal valley, it's influenced by that humble cold water current that, in this case, cools the wind that blows from west to east. Lower temps here and overcast days allow for longer ripening period for the grapes. They have a higher natural acidity, low production of sugars that leads to lower alcohol. If there's not a lot of sugar for the yeast to eat, not gonna produce a lot of alcohol. And because we have that high natural acidity, we like that. It leads to a nice balanced wine. Flavors here, citrus fruit, a little bit of tropical, and just a lot of freshness. Soils in this region are older than those of the Andes Mountains. How cool is that? They're composed of granite and they provide a sense of minerality and tension in your wine. Lastly, Leida Valley. This is even cooler than Casablanca, very vibrant acidity, lots of citrus, and also this herbal characteristic. Honestly, more similar to our New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc than the Casablanca. But one major difference from New Zealand, though, similar to Casablanca, is the amount of sunlight hitting these grapes. The cloudy skies stop sunlight from hitting the grape skins, which preserves this natural acidity. It leads to more crunchy, lasting acidity. This area has more clay inclusion in the soil, so it leads to more citrus and herbal flavors. Okay. I lied. I told you that I was done with the regions, but I actually have one more to tell you about, and that is the Adelaide Hills in Australia. Sauvignon Blanc is grown across many regions in Australia, but the place for Australian Sauvignon Blanc is Adelaide Hills. Again, this is a whole other podcast episode, I think, talking about different Australian wine regions. I have had different I think I've had a couple Australian winemakers and then also the author Jane Lopes of the, Australian wine book, which right now is currently packed up in a box for me. So I think we'll have to wait on the Australian wine podcast until I actually get that book out of a the box that it is in. In the Adelaide Hills, you're gonna get a cooler climate region, which I know sounds crazy for Australia, but it is a cooler region for Australia, and it's in South Australia. The wines here are described as textured, edgy, vibrant, and dry, and they are very specific to say, not like New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. So they are very different. Do not tell an Aussie that their Sauvignon Blanc are similar to New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. They are are they are different. Okay. That's actually all the regions that I wanna talk about. I could have mentioned so many more. Sauvignon Blanc is grown all over the world. I mean, it's grown here in Washington, and it is wonderful. I wanna say I've had some up in the Finger Lakes as well, multiple places in Europe. I know I only really mentioned France, but you can also find it in Germany, in Spain, in Italy. I mean, it is just a grape that's grown everywhere. Let's talk a little logistics. So you learn about all those different regions. Maybe you go out and buy yourself a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to try. What should we what should you you know, what temperature should you serve it at? How old should you let it age? What's the cost? Let me tell you. So serving temperature, you're gonna want it chilled. This is one of those that you could probably put in the fridge overnight, and then maybe just take out, like, ten to fifteen minutes beforehand. But if it's a hot summer day, you can enjoy it right out of the fridge. It's not gonna have as much aroma happening when you do that, but you're probably just looking for that refreshing element of the high acidity and lighter body. You really don't need to decant a Sauvignon Blanc. Maybe you could with one from if it's like like the reductive quality is too reductive, which basically means that there there hasn't been as much oxygen, and they took out the oxygen in the the wine itself. And so that you could maybe, like, throw in a decanter fast and then put it back in the bottle, and that will kind of, like, wake it up a little bit. Aging of Sauvignon Blanc, I cannot usually. You can the one that I see most common is you can age a sweet saucer, and that's because that high sugar and high acidity. And then some high end Sauvignon Blanc, but I would ask before you considered aging it. You typically want your Sauvignon Blanc to only be about three to five years old at the most. Cost wise, you can easily find great bottles, 15 to $20 You can find great bottles around $10 And then higher end bottles, I probably spend 30 to$40 and probably not much more than that. Food wise, I love Sauvignon Blanc with fresh salads. It's one of those wines that works with vegetables that can be a little bitter. One of its famous pairings, if you're looking for a simple wine and cheese pairing, is chevre, so fresh goat cheese. There's this really great one that I pick up. It's at Trader Joe's, but it's also at other grocery stores. It's like this honey goat cheese. Oh, that and Sauvignon Blanc, great pairing. And for anything else, just think light. You know? Think chicken, turkey, fish, crab. You know? That's the kind of meat that we want. Again, it goes really well with a lot of vegetables. You can make it work with asparagus, mushrooms, you know, fresh greens. It does work with that. And anything herbaceous, either whether it's a sauce, a salad again. Like, if you've got a lot of herbal flavors happening, yeah, you should pair it with a Sauvignon Blanc. So are you ready for a glass of Sauvignon Blanc? Because I know I certainly am. I hope you enjoyed this episode. And as a reminder, I am always very curious to hear your thoughts on the episode and I'd love for you to let me know what varietals or what grapes do you want me to cover next. So far, we've learned about Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Barbera, Merlot, and now Sauvignon Blanc. If you haven't heard those episodes, go back and listen to them. They are great. And Then just message me on Instagram at corkin fizz or email me haley at corkin fizz and let me know which grape do you want to learn about next. If you loved this episode as much as I did, I'd love it if you could take a quick second to rate it and leave a review. And if you know a wine lover in your life who would enjoy this, please share it with them. It would mean the world to me. In next week's episode, we are diving into wine certifications. This is a question that I get a lot, and I did a lot of research on myself when I was looking into wine certifications. And so if you want to learn about wine, you don't need a wine certification. In my opinion, there are a lot of ways to learn without taking a formal class or a formal certification. But it could be fun to look into, and especially if you want to work in the wine world. This would probably be a good idea, but there are lots of options. So the podcast, I thought it'd be fun to kinda go over all the different types of certifications, why you would do one, why you might wanna look into it, what the cost is, what the time you know, the amount of time you need to spend is, all those kinds of things. And I'll share my own experience about what certification I chose and why I decided to do that. Thanks again for listening. And if you want to learn more about wine, come follow me at cork and fizz on Instagram. And if you're interested in exploring new wines and joining an incredible community of wine lovers, Be sure to sign up for my virtual tasting club, The Court Crew. Head to thecourtcrew.com to learn more and use code wine special, no space, wine special, to get your first two months for just $8 a month. Cheers.