FACTS

Sauvignon Blanc produces wines that are pale in colour, usually unoaked in style that are best appreciated when they are young and fresh. A very popular grape variety, it is characterized by its crisp acidity and telltale aromas of elderflower and gooseberry.

In France it is widely planted, and is best known as the grape used in Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé where its grassy, herbaceous characteristics come to the fore. In Bordeaux it is often blended with Semillon to produce dry wines that are slightly richer and smokier in style, and is one of the three grape varieties responsible for the famous dessert wines of Sauternes.

It is widely planted throughout the New World, where due to the warmer climate it produces wines that are more pungent in aroma and more tropical in style. It displays more obvious notes of passion fruit, green pepper and grapefruit but still retains the grape’s crisp, dry freshness.

Key regions:
Loire Valley, France
Bordeaux, France
New Zealand
South Africa
Chile

Matching with food:
Serve with goat’s cheese, grilled vegetables, light fish and seafood.

"Well I never" fact:
There is wine on the market labelled’ Cat’s pee on a Gooseberry Bush’ due to two of the common aromas you may get from Sauvignon blanc!