HoustonWine.com
|
Ferrari-Carano On Sauvignon BlancBy Nancy Gilbert You say Sauvignon Blanc, I say Fumé Blanc. It’s not really confusing when you understand that the two names mean the same thing. No matter which one you see on the label, the wine inside the bottle is made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes. (Some winemakers blend in a little Semillon wine (from Semillon grapes), but at least 75% of the wine must be Sauvignon Blanc. Fumé Blanc is just a bottle label name for Sauvignon Blanc wine, first introduced by Robert Mondavi as a marketing idea, because he thought it sounded better than Sauvignon Blanc and was probably easier to pronounce. Little did he think about the confusion he was creating for the consumer! We at Ferrari-Carano call our wine Fumé Blanc for a good reason. It is made in the style of a Pouilly-Fumé from the Loire Valley of France, a wine always made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes. So is ours! It is a delicate, crisp, fruity white wine with a pleasant acidity and the characteristic grassy note that tells you right away it’s made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Our new 1999 Fumé Blanc is a particularly delicious vintage. It’s becoming wildly popular on restaurant wine lists as a by-the-glass selection because it goes so well with so many different kinds of food. Sauvignon Blanc has been in existence since the Romans exported it to the vineyards of France in the early years of the Christian era. The best of the wines were well known around the western world by the 17th century, and United States President Thomas Jefferson was a great admirer of this crisp, racy white wine. Sauvignon Blanc made its debut in American vineyards in 1858 in the Livermore area east of San Francisco. It had only a toehold on popularity until the 1970s when California winemakers began wrestling with its many different stylistic personalities. The past 25 years have been spent in clearly identifying specific styles for this grape, and there are lots of them! So be aware that different winemakers have their own ideas of what this wine should taste like. If you don’t know the brand, ask your wine shop manager or restaurant wait person to describe it to you, and avoid unpleasant surprises. |
|
Home | Houston Wine Calendar | Links | House Wines | Houston's Oenophiles | Photos | Archives Copyright 2005 HoustonWine.com |