This sauvignon blanc balances the grape’s citrusy zest with its richer flavors

Because wines are often labeled by their grape varieties, it’s easy to assume that each wine grape tastes consistently different, like different flavors of ice cream. However, there is a wider range of taste possibilities within any single grape’s wines than there is across examples of vanilla or chocolate.

Take sauvignon blanc. This green grape’s wines are known for citrusy flavors and herbal scent, but their intensity will vary based on two factors winemakers can use to toggle them up or down: degree of grape ripeness and type of fermentation.

To make a lighter, brighter sauvignon blanc with more pronounced leafy, lemon-lime flavors, grape growers will pick the grapes before they reach full ripeness and ferment in stainless steel tanks. This results in the snappy, refreshing “unoaked” style of sauvignon blanc popularized in New Zealand. If the goal is to instead tone down sauvignon blanc’s grassy, citric edges and make a richer wine, producers will let the grapes ripen a little longer and ferment the wine in oak barrels. The resulting wine would taste less citrusy and more like cantaloupe, guava, and vanilla custard.

This wine represents the best of both worlds in the sense that the winemakers have chosen a midpoint between the two ends of the sauvignon blanc spectrum. While the grapes were grown in one of California’s coolest zones, the fruit reached full ripeness on the vine to yield flavors of sweeter citrus like Meyer lemon or pink grapefruit, and greener melon like honeydew. At the winery, half of the wine was fermented in stainless steel and half in barrels to preserve a little garden-fresh tartness and balance it with a touch of toasty richness. In the glass, it makes for a satisfying and crowd-pleasing compromise.

$14.99 14.5% alcohol

PLCB Item #7118

Sale price through 2/27 – regularly $18.99

Also available at:

Canal’s Bottlestop in Marlton; $15.99, canalswine.com, Total Wine & More in Claymont, Del.; $17.99, totalwine.com, Berkley Fine Wine & Spirits in Clarksboro; $17.99, berkleyfinewine.com.