Grape Vari­ety: Sauvi­gnon Blanc

Geog­ra­phy: France, New World, espe­cially New Zealand.

Viti­cul­ture: Enjoys a cool cli­mate. Ideal terroir—the Loire and Bor­deaux regions of France.

Varietal/Blend: Found as a pure vari­etal in the Loire, but often blended with Sémil­lon in Bor­deaux and the New World.

Fla­vor & Char­ac­ter: Sharp, tangy, goose­berry is the pre­dom­i­nant fla­vor. Also has under­tones of grass, net­tles, elder­flower and asparagus.

Vini­fi­ca­tion: Cal­i­forn­ian wine­mak­ers tend to min­i­mize the tart, crisp char­ac­ter­is­tics of Euro­pean Sauvi­gnon Blanc by ensur­ing that the grapes are very ripe before har­vest­ing and then age­ing them in new oak.

Style: Depends a lot on the coun­try of ori­gin, e.g., New Zealand Sauvi­gnon Blanc tends to be tangy and sharp; Chile pro­duces softer styles.

Body, Dry/Sweet: Has a nat­ural acid­ity. Used in dry, medium sweet and sparkling wines.

Notes: France’s Loire region Sauvi­gnon Blanc has achieved the ele­vated sta­tus of ”Noble Grape.”