The Sauvignon Blanc grapevine is thought to originate in France's Loire Valley. It was first known as Fiers, with the earliest documented mention of it (that we have found) in the fourteenth century. Eventually it became known as Sauvignon Blanc, from the French words for wild, sauvage, and white, blanc.
(This article was written for GrapeBunch, our weekly wine periodical. Click here to read the original!)
(This article was written for GrapeBunch, our weekly wine periodical. Click here to read the original!)
It makes the white wine of many regions within central Loire Valley, most notably Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Both are tangy and citrusy and can be smokey, but because there is more flint in the soil of Pouilly-Fumé, it has more of a minerality to it than Sancerre. It's because of Pouilly-Fumé that you'll see California sometimes label their Sauvignon Blanc as Fumé Blanc. However, California does like to blend their Sauvie with Sémillon like the following French region of Bordeaux.
Sauvignon Blanc is also heavily used for white wines in Bordeaux, about 238 miles south of Loire Valley. Here it's usually blended with Sémillon and/or Muscadelle, but mostly Sémillon. Within Bordeaux is where Sauvignon Blanc also became a dessert wine grape in regions like Sauternes and Barsac when it's allowed to be infected with the "noble rot", a fungus called Botrytis cinerea.
Fun Fact: In Bordeaux in the 17th Century, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc became proud parents to Cabernet Sauvignon.
Common descriptors of Sauvignon Blanc are passion fruit, grapefruit, citrus, bell pepper, and grass, but the profile changes with cool and warm climates and with the location's terroir. It can be light and minerally or big and pungent. This is why it's grown all around the world from France to Australia, Chile, Argentina, Italy, Spain, Austria; you name it. In the United States you'll find it in California, Washington State, New York, and Virginia. But you cannot talk about Sauvignon Blanc these days without bringing up New Zealand...
Sauvignon Blanc is New Zealand's flagship grape and for good reason. It grows the most southern grapes in the world, it's completely surrounded in ocean, and has an Antarctic current to the south, making its maritime climate unique. Sauvignon Blanc just loves it here, especially the South Island region of Marlborough. Because the climate makes Sauv Blanc able to reach a full level of ripeness at such a specific pace, the resulting wine expresses itself here like nowhere else. These wines can be packed with personality, featuring loud expressions of ripe grapefruit, passion fruit, bell pepper, and jalapeño.
DASHWOOD SAUVIGNON BLANC
Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand is complex with grapefruit, flowers, snow peas, jalapeño, and grass. Pairing: summer salad.
This article was written for The GrapeBunch Wine Periodical.
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Joey Casco
Beverage Marketer
Certified Specialist of Wine
Certified Specialist of Spirits
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