Why sauvignon blanc is one of the best values in wine
Sauvignon blanc is cost-effective to produce — the grapes are hardy and require relatively little aging — allowing the wine to be sold inexpensively. The best deliver surprising quality for the price.
Seaglass Sauvignon Blanc
$11.99 13.5% alcohol
PLCB Item #98141
Sale price through June 1; regularly $13.99
If you want to get the most mileage from each dollar you spend on wine, it makes sense to seek out those styles that are inexpensive to produce and do not require much aging before release. Unoaked white wines are your best bet on both counts, with sauvignon blanc offering some of the best values, since its wines can deliver surprising levels of quality at low prices.
Sauvignon blanc is an unusually cost-effective grape to grow thanks to the vigor of its vines and the pungency of its fruit. Not only can a grape grower count on generous crops that have natural resistance to rot and disease, but the fruit is packed with desirable flavors and scents. Sauvignon blanc grapes taste like normal green grapes if eaten fresh, but fermentation triggers chemical reactions in the juice that yield distinctively citrusy and herbal tasting wine. Even better for keeping prices low, these wines do not require extensive aging at the winery and are often the first wines to be released, roughly nine months after the harvest. In another boon to its vintners, sauvignon blanc can also make tasty wine at surprisingly low degrees of ripeness, which helps farmers avoid weather-related crop risks by harvesting earlier than usual.
Under-ripeness does lead many sauvignon blancs, especially those made in France or New Zealand, to taste quite green and leafy in a way that not all wine drinkers appreciate. But there are plenty of places where sauvignon blanc can ripen more fully without losing its sense of refreshment, resulting in wines like this one from California’s Central Coast region that taste more of fresh fruit. Here, most of the grapes come from sunny Santa Barbara, resulting in a tangy, dry, and mid-weight sauvignon blanc whose main flavors are of guava and golden melon, with only a hint of the grapefruit frisson that can overwhelm so many of its competitors.
Also available at:
Kreston Wine & Spirits in Wilmington, $10.99
Total Wine & More in Wilmington and Claymont, $10.99
Canal’s of Berlin Discount Liquor Mart in Berlin, N.J., $10.99