Sauvignon blanc

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Sauvignon blanc
Grape (Vitis)
Ripe Sauvignon blanc grapes
SpeciesVitis Vinifera
Also calledSauvignon Jaune, Blanc Fume (France), Muskat-Silvaner (Germany & Austria), Fume Blanc
OriginFrance France
Notable regionsNew Zealand, California, Loire Valley, Bordeaux
Notable winesSauternes
HazardsPowdery mildew, Oidium, Black rot, and Botrytis cinerea,
VIVC number10790

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape gets it name from the French word sauvage, meaning wild, and its early origins as a indigenous grape in western France. [1] It is now planted in much of the world's wine regions, producing a crisp, dry, and refreshing white varietal wine. Conversely, the grape is also a component of the famous dessert wines from Sauternes and Barsac. This grape is widely cultivated in France, New Zealand and California.[2]

Depending on climate, its flavors can range from aggressively grassy to sweetly tropical, although perhaps the most memorable descriptor is "cat's pee on a gooseberry bush"[3], which is also the smell of fresh guava fruit. Sauvignon blanc is most enjoyable slightly chilled, with fish or cheese, particularly Chevre. It is also one of the only wines that can pair well with sushi.[4]

Along with Riesling, it was one of the first fine wines to be bottled with a screwcap in commercial quantities, especially by New Zealand producers. The wine is usually drank in its youth, as it does not particularly benefit from aging. Dry and sweet white Bordeaux, typically made with Sauvignon Blanc as a major component, is the one exception.

History

The Sauvignon blanc grape can trace its origins to western France in the Loire Valley and Bordeaux Regions. At some point in the 18th century, the vine paired with Cabernet Franc to parent the Cabernet Sauvignon vine in Bordeaux. In the 19th century, plantings in Bordeaux were often interspersed with Sauvignon vert (In Chile, known as Sauvignoasse) as well as the Sauvignon blanc pink mutation Sauvignon gris. Prior to the phylloxera epidemic, these interspersed cuttings were transported to Chile where the field blends are still common today. [5]

The first cuttings of Sauvignon blanc were brought to California by Charles Wetmore, founder of Cresta Blanca winery, in the 1880s.[6] These cuttings came from the vineyards of Sauternes Chateau d'Yquem. The plantings produced well in Livermore Valley. Eventually, the wine acquired the alias of "Fumé Blanc" in California by promotion of Robert Mondavi.

The grape was first introduced to New Zealand with in the 1970s as an experimental planting of a white wine grape to blend with Müller-Thurgau. [7]

The grape has no known relation to the Sauvignon Rosé mutation found in the Loire Valley of France. [5]

Climate and geography

File:Sancere vineyard with roses.jpg
Vineyards in Sancerre will often plant roses around Sauvignon blanc vines as an early detector of powdery mildew.

The Sauvignon blanc grape tends to buds late but ripens early, which allows it to performs well in climates that can give it lots of sunshine without overwhelming heat. In warm regions such as Australia and California, the grape flourishes in the cooler climate appellations. [5] In areas where it is subjected to high heat, the grape will quickly over ripen and wines of dull flavors and flatten acidity. [8]

The grape originated in France, in the regions of Bordeaux and the Loire Valley. Plantings in California, Australia, Chile, and South Africa are also extensive, and Sauvignon Blanc is steadily increasing in popularity as white wine drinkers seek alternatives to Chardonnay. Sauvignon blanc is also grown in Italy, eastern Europe, Australia, and South America.[2]

Global warming has had an affect on the Sauvignon blanc grape, with the rising global temperatures causing farmers to harvest the grapes earlier then they have in the past. [8]

File:Sauterne in grape.jpg
A glass of Sauternes.

France

In France, Sauvignon blanc is grown in the maritime climate of Bordeaux and Sauternes as well as the continental climate of the Loire Valley (as Pouilly Fumé, Sancerre, and Sauvignon de Touraine). The climates of these areas were particularly favorable in slowing the ripening on the vine and giving the grape more time to develop a balance between its acidity and sugar levels. This balance is important in the development of the intensity of the wine's aromas. Winemakers in France pay careful attention to terroir characteristics of the soil and the different elements that it imparts to the wine. The chalk and Kimmeridgean marl of Sancerre and Pouilly produces wines or richness and complexity with more compact chalk soils adding more finesse and perfume to the wine. The gravel soil found near the Loire River and its tributaries impart spicy and floral flavors. Vines planted in flint tend to be the most vigorous and longest lasting wines. [8]

Pouilly Fumé originate from the town of Pouilly-sur-Loire, located directly across the Loire River from the commune of Sancerre. The here soil is very flinty with deposits of limestone which the locals believed imparted a smoky, gun flint flavor to the wine and Fumé, the French word for "smoke" was attached to the wine. [9]

Along with Sémillon, Muscadelle and Ugni blanc, Sauvignon blanc is one of only four white grapes allowed in the production of Bordeaux wine. Mostly used as a blending grape, Sauvignon blanc is the principle grape in Château Pétrus' Pavillon Blanc, [10]

In the Sauternes region, the grape is blended with Sémillon to make the late harvest wine, Sauternes. The composition of Sauvignon blanc varies from producer and can range from 5-50% with the Premier Cru Supérieur Château d'Yquem using 20%. A traditional practice often employed in Sauternes is to plant on Sauvignon blanc vine at regular intervals among rows of Semillon. However, Sauvignon grapes tend to ripen 1-2 weeks earlier and can lose some of their intensity and aroma as they hang longer on the vine. This has prompted more producers to isolate their parcels of Sauvignon blanc. [11]

In the northern Rhône Valley, Sauvignon blanc is often blended with Tresallier to form a tart white wine. [12]

[13]

New Zealand and Australia

Sauvignon blanc vineyards in Marlborough, New Zealand, demonstrating restrictive pruning practices.

In the 1990s, wines from the maritime climate of New Zealand, particularly the South Island, made the grape quite popular, with less expensive and varietally correct wines produced by wineries such as Montana, Babich, Hunters and Cloudy Bay Vineyards. In the Marlborough region, sandy soils over slate shingles are most desirable locations due to the good drainage of the soil and the poor fertility that encourages the vine to concentrate flavors in lower yields. In the flood plain of the Wairau River Valley, the soil runs in east-west bands across the area. This can create a wide diversity of flavors for vineyards that are planted north-south with the heavier soils producing more herbaceous wines from grapes that tend to ripen late and the later stonier soils ripening earlier and imparting more lush and tropical flavors. It is this difference in soils, and the types of harvest time decisions that New Zealand producers must make, that add the unique element to New Zealand Sauvignon blanc. [8]

The long narrow geography of the South Island, ensures that the no vineyard is more then 80 miles from the coast. The cool, maritime climate allows for a long and steady growing season for the grapes to ripen in and develop its nature balance of acids. This brings out the flavors and intensity that New Zealand Sauvignon blancs are noted for. [14]

In Australia, the grape is often blended with Sémillon, especially in the Margaret River region. Varietal styles from Adelaide Hills and Padthaway have a style distinctive from their New Zealand neighbors that tend to be more riper in flavors with white peach and lime notes and slightly higher acidity. [7]

North America

Fumé blanc is a California wine that was first used as a wine name by Napa Valley's Robert Mondavi Winery in 1968. Mondavi had been offered a crop of particularly good Sauvignon blanc grapes by a grower. At that time the variety had a poor reputation in California due to its grassy flavor and aggressive aromas. Mondavi decided to try and tame that aggressiveness with barrel agings and released under the name Fumé blanc as an allusion to the French Pouilly-Fumé.[11] Also, "blanc fumé" is the local name of a white fog from the river below that envelops the Loire.

The usage of the term is primarily a marketing base one with California wine makers choosing which ever name they prefer. Both oaked and unoaked Sauvignon blanc wines have been marketed under the name Fumé blanc. [15]

California Sauvignon blancs tend to fall into two styles. The New Zealand influenced-Sauvignon blanc have more tropical fruit undertones with citrus and passion fruit notes. The Mondavi-influenced Fumé Blanc are more rounder with melon notes.[7]

Canada's Niagara Peninsula makes small quantities of premium quality Sauvignon Blanc that typically preserves high acidity with bright fresh fruit. Leading producers are found in all of the bench lands from the Short Hills Bench to the 20 Mile Bench to the Beamsville Bench to the St. David's Bench.

South America

In the early 1990s, ampelographers began to distinguish Sauvignon blanc from Sauvignonasse plantings in Chile. The character of non-blended Chilean Sauvignon blanc are noticeably less acidic then the wines of New Zealand and more similar to the French style that is typical of Chilean wines. The region of Valparaíso is the most notale area for Sauvignon blanc in Chile due to its cooler climate which the grapes can be picked up to six weeks later then in other parts of Chile. [7]

In Brazil, ampelographers have discovered that the grapes called Sauvignon blanc planted in the region are really Seyval Blanc.[7]

Viticulture

2 bottles of Marlborough Sauvignon blanc.

Sauvignon blanc's susceptibility to noble rot makes it ideal for production of luscious sweet wines, reaching its heights in Sauternes, blended with Sémillon.

Winemakers in New Zealand and Chile harvest the grapes at various intervals for the different blending characteristics that the grape can produce. At its most unripe stage, the grape is high in malic acid. As it progresses further towards ripeness the grape develops red & green pepper flavors and eventually sugar balance. [8] Grapes grown in Marlborough's Wairau Valley may exhibit different levels of ripeness over the vineyard, caused by slight unevenness in the land and giving a similar flavor profile to the resulting wine.

Sauvignon blanc can be greatly influenced by decisions in the winemaking process. One decision is the amount of contact that the must has with the skins of the grape. In the early years of the New Zealand wine industry, there were no wineries on the South Island which meant that freshly harvested grapes had to be trucked and then ferried to the North Island, sometimes all the way up to Auckland. This allowed for prolong exposure of the skins and juice which sharpened the intensity and pungency of the wine. Some winemakers, like the Loire, intentionally leave a small amount of must to spend some time in contact with the skin for later blending purposes. Other winemakers, like in California, generally avoid any contact with the skin due to the lessening aging ability of the resulting wine. [16]

Another important decision is the temperature of fermentation. French winemakers prefer warmer fermentations (around 16-18°C) that bring out the minerally flavors in the wine while New World winemakers perfer slightly colder temperatures to bring out more fruit and tropical flavors. A small minority of Loire winermakers will put the wine through malolactic fermentation with the practice being much more common in New Zealand. [16]

The asparagus, gooseberry and green flavor commonly associated with New Zealand Sauvignon blanc is derived from flavor compounds known as methoxypyrazines that becomes more pronounced and concentrated in wines from cooler climate regions.[16]

Oak aging can have a pronounced affect on the wine, with the oak rounding out the flavors of the wine and softening the grapes naturally high acidity. Some winemakers, like those in New Zealand and Sancerre, prefer stainless steel fermentation tanks over barrel fermentation with the intention of maintain the grapes sharp focus and flavor intensity. [17]

See also

References

  1. ^ K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 52 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1563054345
  2. ^ a b Epicurious, "Sauvignon Blanc"
  3. ^ Materman, "Stuff of legends: Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc."
  4. ^ Robert Joseph and Margaret Rand, KISS Guide to Wine DK Pub 2000 ISBN 0-7894-5981-7
  5. ^ a b c Oz Clarke Encyclopedia of Grapes pg 221 Harcourt Books 2001 ISBN 0151007144
  6. ^ Wine Pros Sauvignon blanc
  7. ^ a b c d e Oz Clarke Encyclopedia of Grapes pg 225 Harcourt Books 2001 ISBN 0151007144
  8. ^ a b c d e Oz Clarke Encyclopedia of Grapes pg 222 Harcourt Books 2001 ISBN 0151007144
  9. ^ K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 272 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1563054345
  10. ^ K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 123 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1563054345
  11. ^ a b J. Robinson Vines, Grapes & Wines pg 124 Mitchell Beazley 1986 ISBN 1857329996
  12. ^ J. Robinson Vines, Grapes & Wines pg 120 Mitchell Beazley 1986 ISBN 1857329996
  13. ^ K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 60-61 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1563054345
  14. ^ K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 807 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1563054345
  15. ^ K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 647 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1563054345
  16. ^ a b c Oz Clarke Encyclopedia of Grapes pg 223 Harcourt Books 2001 ISBN 0151007144
  17. ^ K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 811 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1563054345

Further Reading

  • LAROUSSE Encyclopedia of WINE, Hamlyn, 2001, ISBN 0-600-60475-6
  • Taber, G. Judgment of Paris. New York: Scribner's, 2005.
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