Attributes:

Clos Paradis

Sancerre, France

Sauvignon Blanc

750 ML

2005: WineAdvocate Rating: 89

bright, fresh

classic

chalk, citrus, honey, honeydew, lemon, lime, melon

Food Matches:

(sahn sehr)—This ancient town in the Loire Valley has been growing Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes for centuries. The whites are fragrant and dry, very much like Pouilly-Fumé. The reds are light with berry flavors and the rosé is soft and dry.

Comes mostly from California, France, New Zealand, and South Africa. Its highly acidic wines are often suggestive of herbs or grass. Light to medium bodied and usually dry, European versions are generally not oaky while California Sauvignon Blanc can take on many of the qualities of Chardonnay. France has two classic wine regions for the Sauvignon Blanc gape: Bordeaux and the Loire Valley The Bordeaux wine is called Bordeaux Blanc and the two best known of the Loire wines are called Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. In Bordeaux, Sauvignon Blanc is sometimes blended with Sémillon.

Attributes:

Domaine Jacques Guindon

Muscadet, France

Muscadet

750 ML

Food Matches:

(moos cah day)—The famous white wine of this frost-prone region of the Loire Valley is bottled “sur lie,” while still in contact with its sediment. This keeps the wine fresh and gives it a slight spritz and yeasty roundness. Light, often lemony, and very dry, it goes well with oysters.

Attributes:

St. Supery Vineyard

Napa Valley, United States

Dry White Table Wine

750 ML

2004: CGCW Rating: 90

complex, deep

oak

2001: WineSpectator Rating: 86

supple

caramel, melon, pear, toasty oak

2001: Tanzer Rating: 87

layered

grapefruit, lemon cream, oak, vanilla

good concentration, ripe

2000: WineSpectator Rating: 87

fat

rich

caramel, citrus, melon, vanilla

2000: Tanzer Rating: 85

candied, melon, oak, pear, pineapple, spice, spicy

ripe

1999: WineSpectator Rating: 87

tangy

honey, melon, toasty oak, vanilla

1999: Tanzer Rating: 87

fresh

white flowers

grapefruit, lemon, licorice, melon, pineapple, stony

ripe

1998: Tastings Rating: 83

bright

lean, medium-bodied

herbaceous

austere

Food Matches:

This tiny strip of land just north of San Francisco is home to America’s most prestigious wineries. Its climate is ideal for viticulture. Ironically, it was deemed too ideal for some vintners, who have moved their vineyards from the valley’s flat plain to the hills in the east and west, adhering to the idea that grapes that struggle to grow yield better wine. The climate, soil, and individual wineries are enormously varied, so it’s impossible to identify a singular trait of Napa wines. In addition, nearly every noble grape is grown here, although Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the primary grapes. In the past, Napa’s wines have alternated between extremely fruity and fat to lean and subtle. Today the best Napa wines have achieved a balance between these extremes. Many are made to be drunk young and have abundant ripe fruit; others can be initially hard and tannic, but soften over four or five years to perfumed, cedary fruit. White Napa wines are excellent with fresh-grilled fish and chicken, but can also cope with more spicy and creamy flavors. Many Napa reds will overwhelm delicate cuisine, but rich red meat and cheeses do make good companions.