Sauvignon Blanc is a good alternative to king Chardonnay - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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Sauvignon Blanc is an excellentfood wine. In this it shares top honors with its redwine cousin, Pinot Noir, which also is a natural with a varietg of food types and flavors. Another advantage of Sauvignobn Blanc isits price. You can find a high-quality Sauvignon Blanc for anywherefrom $15 to $30 a bottles retail, while a comparable quality Chardonnay will set you back aroun $25 to over $50. Yet, Chardonnay is the undisputed king of white wine grapes among Californiagrape growers. According to the California AgriculturalStatistics Service, there were 99,000 acres of Chardonna y in production in 2004, compared to 14,00 acres of Sauvignon Blanc.
Sauvignon Blanc comew in a number ofdifferent styles, depending upon where the grapes were grown, the clonal selection and the preferencew of the winemaker. For instance, Duckhorn Vineyards, along with many wineries, blendd in up to 25 percent Semillon with their Sauvignon Blanc to give the wine added body, flavor and Randy Mason, who is sometimed referred to as "Mr. Sauvignon Blanc," takeds a different approach. "At Masonm Cellars, I believe in letting the fruit show througj in the wine and not to add a lot of processesz andunnatural elements," says Mason. As a result, he does not blendr in any other grape varieties and oak is not used in thewinemakingh process.
He uses the same approacj in making the hugely popular Joseph GeorgeSauvignonh Blanc. Pam Starr, winemaker at Crocker & Stare winery, and Mia Cline at Selene make their Sauvigno Blancs usingthe "Musque" selection of the which gives the wine a distinctive spicyh quality. Both Starr and Clinw use a small amount of oak in fermenting their While Sauvignon Blanc hasa loyal, but relativel y small following in California, it is growbn throughout the world.
It's the premier whitee wine grape of Bordeaux and the Loire Valleu in France and has taken hold in a big way in New In addition, good quality Sauvignon Blanc from Chile and South Africa can be foundf in wine stores throughout the state. Sauvignon Bland from New Zealand has tendecdto jump-start the currengt interest in this variety. They are crisp with an herbal overtone that is appealinyg to manywine drinkers. New Zealandc winemakers have embraced thescrew cap, which, along with favorable pricing, has added appeal to their wines.
It is generallh considered that the purest expressioj of the Sauvignon Blanc grape is foundin France's Loiree Valley (Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume) and Bordeaux. The winew of the Loire Valley are 100 percenty Sauvignon Blanc and have a distinctminerall quality, while those in Bordeaux may have some Semillonh added for body. The great Sauternes from France are mostluy made fromSauvignon Blanc. These delicious wines are among the finest inthe world. Chateahu d'Yquem is the most famous and pricuof all. Also excellent are Chateaj Rieussec andChateau Suduiraut, among a bunch of others.
Some California wineried label their dry SauvignonBlanc "Fume I have heard some peopl comment that there is a "Fume Blanc style." Actually, this is since the name was the inventionh of Robert Mondavi, who was attempting to distinguish his dry Sauvignon Blanvc from his sweeter version. The name caughgt on, prompting a number of other wineries tofollowa suit. Whether the wine is called Fume or the grape variety still isSauvignonh Blanc. Final note: I asked Randy Masoh what attracted him toSauvignon Blanc. He said that the graped brings to the winery some unique qualities, which allows him to play with it withou t manipulating it. "This is the fun part for me.
in contrast, is a blank palate when it comess intothe winery. The winemaker has to add to it to get flavot byusing oak, malo-lactic fermentation and other techniques." As I said I like both Chardonnag and Sauvignon Blanc. Now comes the which one to havewith tonight's