One of the highlights of my trip to Austria this past fall was the grüner veltliner (pronounced GROO-nah velt-LEE-nah, with your best Germanic accent). We traveled up the Danube river one day and tasted grüner veltliner from the Wachau and Wagram regions, which are beautiful areas with terraced vineyards along the shores of the Danube. […]
This is an intriguing wine. It’s classified as a Sauvignon Blanc, and at 80% of the blend, that is technically accurate. But Clif’s winemakers, Sarah Gott and Bruce Regalia blend in 4 additional varietals to create a wine that offers layers, complexity, and distinction. Those expecting typical sauvignon blanc characteristics won’t be disappointed, but The […]
Years ago, I turned my wife on to sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. It’s now her white wine of choice. In fact, when white wine ends up on the grocery list there usually isn’t any second-guessing. So tonight as I was in the process of making dinner, my wife said she was up for a […]
The Chardonnay grape deserves respect. The king of white wine has earned it. But with that earned respect comes great expectation, and these days low to mid-tier producers of Chardonnay face unprecedented levels of competition from varietals such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Viognier, particularly from up and coming foreign producers. So when I […]
Note from the editor: We’ve added a new reviewer to the Cheap Wine Ratings team and this is the first of what will hopefully become many reviews from David Germano. And now, on with his review… This is my first official post on cheapwineratings.com, and my first assignment, ironically, has brought me right back to […]
This is going to be a quick, to-the-point review. It’s another Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand, and this is from the Dashwood brand. I know some folks in the wine world don’t like to use the word, “brand” but that’s what it is. Anyway, Dashwood is produced by Vavasour — which, as I mentioned […]
Tonight we’re checking out another sauvignon blanc from New Zealand, and this one comes from a box. Not a boxy box, but an octagon-shaped box from Octavin. These boxes hold 3 liters of wine, which is the equivalent of four 750ML bottles. For me, there are pros and cons of boxed wines. The cons include […]
If there’s one type of wine that New Zealand is best known for, it’s sauvignon blanc. The reason for this is the intense tropical and citrus flavors typically found in their sauvignon blanc. And this one from Goldwater is a beautiful example of what you can expect from this region. Goldwater Estate was established in […]
Tonight we’re reviewing another French sauvignon blanc. This one comes from Guy Saget Estates, located on the right bank of the Loire in appellation district of Touraine Mesland. The vineyards span 80 hectares and are planted on two types of soil: sand and clay with some limestone. The color of this wine is a deep […]
We’ve focused a lot of our sauvignon blanc reviews on Chile and also had a few from California and New Zealand. But we shouldn’t forget about France, and so today we’re checking out a French sauvignon blanc. This wine is called Le Jaja de Jau and is produced by Château de Jau in southern France. […]
