New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs have a cult following: you either love the punch of acidity or you could do without.
Its California counterparts are just as zippy but often more balanced with mineral notes. Yet Marlborough, New Zealand, takes the cake for being the most storied region in the world for Sauvignon Blanc. Here are three picks from that spot, where the first bottling of Sauvignon Blanc didn’t emerge until 1980. Cloudy Bay’s first vintage in 1985 really put these wines on the map.
Priced fairly low (typically under $20 a bottle) these wines are good to chill in the fridge, ready to unscrew (rarely does a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand have a cork) for an after-work glass of wine.
2011 Kim Crawford Wines Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand, $18) is like biting into a key-lime pie – it’s that acidic and citrusy, with bright pineapple and grapefruit notes that extend through to the finish. (www.kimcrawfordwines.co.nz)
2010 New Harbour Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand, $15) is grassy with guava notes and a hint of grapefruit. Under the Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines umbrella – which includes California powerhouses like Rosenblum Cellars and Beaulieu Vineyard – this Sauvignon Blanc expresses true value. (diageowines.com)
2009 Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand, $15) contains creamy pineapple notes mixed with guava, before spinning into a clean finish. Overall, this is a very well balanced wine and less grassy that others from this region. (www.nobilo.co.nz)
WINE EVENT OF THE WEEK
If you love – really love – Korbel Champagne Cellars (www.korbel.com), then you need to take tonight off, or cancel any plans you’ve already made. Tally Ho Pub & Grill (www.tallyhoerin.com) in Hartford is accepting reservations for a special dinner (beginning at 6 p.m., $49 per person or $89 per couple) hosted by Paul Ahvenaian, who is director of winemaking for Korbel. If you have a sweetheart to bring, that’s wonderful – but please don’t sweat it. I’ve heard many stories about love blooming at a wine event. Each of the dinner’s five courses is thoughtfully paired with a Korbel selection (the portfolio includes Lake Sonoma Winery and Valley of the Moon) and the night wraps up with an 8:30 p.m. live-music show. I’m told that the menu will include seared sea scallops, duck soup, lamb chops with mint sauce and a pear stuffed with vanilla Marscopone filling cheese and a Korbel chocolate sauce. Are you drooling yet? If so, pick up the phone and dial 262-223-0049.
WINE DEAL OF THE WEEK
With the recent spike in outdoor temperatures and with bulbs shooting out of the soil, it’s time to head to the lake. Harbor House (www.harborhousemke.com) (Bartolotta Restaurant Group’s almost-two-year-old restaurant: a $3-million facelift of the former Pieces of Eight) guarantees a view of Lake Michigan given that the long, narrow and rectangular dining room juts out into the water. Happy Hour on Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. features not only $.89 oysters and $.89 clams, but $5 glasses of wine too. Champagne, Riesling, Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot Noir are what you get to choose from. Given the rock-bottom price, why not drink two glasses then?
WINE OF THE WEEK
Whatever you’ve read or seen about Merlot (hello, remember the film “Sideways?”) try to forget it for just a moment. 2007 Souverain Merlot (Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California, $18) is an exception, delivering a nose of blueberries, forest floor and clove that practically lifts out of the glass, followed by juicy blackberry notes and well-integrated, fine tannins laced with even more cloves. The grapes used to make this wine are soured from the winery’s 120-year-old vineyard estate. (www.souverain.com)
Photo by sirifoto
