Sauvignon Blanc - the Summer Savior

Now that it’s actually getting warm here in Seattle, it’s time for those delicious Summertime meals – lots of fresh vegetables, salads, and seafood. Normally, I watch my food budget very carefully, but when the farmer’s markets are rocking the produce, I fill up my bag with abandon and gather friends around to enjoy the light fresh flavors of the fields, rivers and ocean.

While some people drink red wine year around, I match my wines to the season and, of course, the food. One of my summertime favorites is Sauvignon Blanc, a white wine that is extremely food friendly, particularly with these fresh and light summer meals. Why is it so good? The secret is in the balance – Sauvignon Blanc is light to medium body with grassy and citrus flavors, usually lower alcohol, but it also has fairly high acids. When matching food and wine, you need to be careful about acidic or tart foods – a wine without sufficient acidity can taste thin and bitter in the face of tart food and can ruin the meal. Conversely, a wine with a higher acid will pair beautifully both acidic foods and rich foods – it will stand up to the acid in a tart dish and cut the richness in a dish with more fat. Sauvignon Blanc is a classic from France in the Loire where it’s grassy and green, and Graves, where it’s sometimes blended with Semillon, making it a bit rounder with apple and melon overtones. From New Zealand, the Marlborough versions are pungent with gooseberry and tropical tones of passion fruit and nectarine.