Sauvignon Blanc: Articles on the Sauvignon Blanc White Wine Grape Varietal

Wines to Go Buy This Week: Crisp and Refreshing Summer White Wines by Broadbent, Dr. Loosen, and Spy Valley

The dog days of August are upon us and we have but a few weeks remaining before hot summer nights give way to crisp autumn leaves. This summer has been brutally hot for most of the US -though not too bad here in San Francisco, though September tends to be our hot month, if "hot" and "San Francisco" can actually be used in the same sentence- and I've had the great pleasure of discovering some fantastic white wines that are both tasty and refreshing for those hot nights. So before summer ends, here are three white wines to go buy this week:

Broadbent Vinho Verde - Vinho Verde is a staple of Portuguese culture. Translated it means "Green Wine" which refers to its youthful freshness. It's a low-alcohol, light, crisp, and slightly effervescent wine that is about as close to perfection as a summer wine can be. Broadbent makes a fantastic Vinho Verde and at about $9 a bottle, it's worth buying a case to serve at your Labor Day picnic. Your guests will love it. About $9. Buy Broadbent Vinho Verde 

IntoWine.com asked a panel of wine experts for their recommendation for the best New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc:

Sauvignon Blanc has a split personality right now. I say this because there are those who believe that New Zealand has found the best, true expression of Sauvignon Blanc the world has ever known. Because of this, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand has been all the rage in recent years. Interest and demand for a product, unfortunately, does not always translate into quality. Many New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc producers have simply begun to let quality slide in order to make a few more bottles of wine and cash in on the image of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. In my opinion, there are still some really good producers making consistent high-quality products, you simply have to find them. 

My support falls behind the Saint Clair Pioneer Block 3 '43' Degrees Sauvignon Blanc. This is a focused, very direct, herbaceous, linear expression of Sauvignon Blanc – the sort of thing you want and expect and respect, when you get it. This single vineyard wine claims to have a unique planting scheme which delivers pungent, high-acid, gooseberry, pine resin aromas and flavors. At about $20, this wine is a bargain for any purist in search of the lost art of Sauvignon Blanc. – Ben Spencer is a diploma student with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and an IntoWine Featured Writer.

With the economy in the gutter wine enthusiasts are on the lookout for exceptional wines for a good price with which they can sip away the summer.  IntoWine.com asked our panel of wine experts to recommend the best sauvignon blanc "value" wines:

New Zealand makes outstanding Sauvignon Blanc, as most already know, though they are very good value, they aren’t, as such, “value wines”. What is not commonly known is that a lot of New Zealand wine consumed in New Zealand is blended with outstanding “value” Sauvignon Blanc, imported from Chile! Granted, if they blend in Chilean wines, they aren’t allowed to re-export that wine labeled as New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but in New Zealand itself, they don’t make mention of the fact that their home grown juice might not be as pure as believed. It is often blended. Such is the quality of Chilean “value” Sauvignon Blanc that, a while back, at Cindy Paulson’s Backstreet Kitchen in the heart of Napa Valley’s town of St. Helena, they were pouring one by the glass. It was the Aresti Sauvignon Blanc! Is this crazy or what? Well, a quick chat to the then wine buyer revealed that, although Napa makes some excellent Sauvignon Blanc, “there is not a single Napa Valley winery that makes a Sauvignon Blanc with such pure varietal character as you get in the Aresti, priced at a “by the glass” price point”! - Bartholomew Broadbent, CEO, Broadbent Selections, San Francisco