What have winemakers done to make SB citrusy

Can anyone argue against the idea that sauv blancs are on the comeback because American winemakers are making them citrusy/new zealandish style wines. How are they doing it? I have heard from winemakers several very different ways to do it, such as, adding citric acid or trellising and pruning the grapes so they get sun or that the grapes are harvested younger. What is the true story?

Rod

...sauv blancs are on the comeback...

What do you mean by 'comeback'? Are wine sales up for sauvignon blanc? Are those sales just in the States or elsewhere? Are those sales for US sauvignon blanc or for wines from other countries? Or are you talking about acreage planted? Price per ton for grapes? All of the above?

(I haven't really noticed any of it because I don't buy much sauvignon blanc, from any country).

I have heard from winemakers several very different ways to do it, such as, adding citric acid or trellising and pruning the grapes so they get sun or that the grapes are harvested younger. What is the true story?

Rod, Hi...

Any or all of the above.

Best
Rogov

Rod asks....Can anyone argue against the idea that sauv blancs are on the comeback because American winemakers are making them citrusy/new zealandish style wines.

Some may be making this style but there are still a fair number of tropical fruit style SBs from California out there. I avoid them like a plague, sticking to Hanna, Kenwood and sometimes Mason and Stirling.

[David M. Bueker]

Not making a comeback with me. I hate the stuff in virtually all its forms.

Not making a comeback with me. I hate the stuff in virtually all its forms.

Gee, I thought I was the only one who felt this way. Syrah is the other grape I have problems with. I've been promised that I will "see the light" after this weekend's MOCOOL.

I am also seeing fewer people trying to make them taste like chardonnay.

HI Mike,
Apart from what they are doing in the vineyard, I would say it is the yeast selections they are using. Plenty of research has gone into this how yeast selection can enhance aromas and flavours of sauvignon blanc. Just google sauvignon blanc and yeasts. Any article written by Denis Dubordieu would be one of the leading articles. He is from Univ of Bdx but is also involved with research projects in NZ.
Cheers,
Sue

Here’s an interesting article written by Curtis Phillips;
http://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/?go=get ... taId=66143

Salute

Wow, lots of SB haters here! A nice crisp SB can be incredibly refreshing, a wonderful wine on a hot summer day. NZ examples are my favourite, but Loire and S. African examples can be great too. Austria is also making some interesting SBs as well.

I agree that many Californian examples have been too pseduo-chardonnay in style that they lose their appeal (to me at least).

Did some wine tasting on LI's North Fork this weekend..Lovely crisp SB from Paumonok and an SB from Macari that tasted like Grapefruit wine and very refreshing..2 dramatically different SB's from vineyards only a few mnutes drive apart on Rt 25

Rod asks....Can anyone argue against the idea that sauv blancs are on the comeback because American winemakers are making them citrusy/new zealandish style wines.

Some may be making this style but there are still a fair number of tropical fruit style SBs from California out there. I avoid them like a plague, sticking to Hanna, Kenwood and sometimes Mason and Stirling.

Well, I have to take back my Hanna comment. The `07 SB is a change in style for me at least. Now up to previous vintages, will post asap.

John is spot on.....I agree that many Californian examples have been too pseduo-chardonnay in style that they lose their appeal (to me at least).

Not making a comeback with me. I hate the stuff in virtually all its forms.

Gee, I thought I was the only one who felt this way. Syrah is the other grape I have problems with. I've been promised that I will "see the light" after this weekend's MOCOOL.

Have you tasted a good Hermitage or Cote Rotie with some age on it?

Did some wine tasting on LI's North Fork this weekend..Lovely crisp SB from Paumonok and an SB from Macari that tasted like Grapefruit wine and very refreshing..2 dramatically different SB's from vineyards only a few mnutes drive apart on Rt 25

Jon: did you by any chance try anything from Channing Daughters? I think their Mudd Vineyard SB is great (north fork fruit - winery is on the south fork). They are also making some skin contact/skin fermentation whites which I have yet to try, but hear good things about.

Wow, lots of SB haters here! A nice crisp SB can be incredibly refreshing, a wonderful wine on a hot summer day. NZ examples are my favourite, but Loire and S. African examples can be great too. Austria is also making some interesting SBs as well.

I agree that many Californian examples have been too pseduo-chardonnay in style that they lose their appeal (to me at least).

I'm a Sauvignon Blanc lover, and I'm not afraid to admit it. However, when I first tried SB many years ago, it was one of those yucky CA oakified monstrosities. I wouldn't touch that white wine for years. Now I know better, and so do a number of the CA wine producers.

-- Clark

Kim Crawford makes a killer SB. When I had a bottle open, I would think about it all day and image the taste! The last several bottles of SB I've had, mostly CA, have dulled my taste for it so I need to start looking elsewhere.

Wow, lots of SB haters here! A nice crisp SB can be incredibly refreshing, a wonderful wine on a hot summer day. NZ examples are my favourite, but Loire and S. African examples can be great too. Austria is also making some interesting SBs as well.

I agree that many Californian examples have been too pseduo-chardonnay in style that they lose their appeal (to me at least).

I'm a Sauvignon Blanc lover, and I'm not afraid to admit it. However, when I first tried SB many years ago, it was one of those yucky CA oakified monstrosities. I wouldn't touch that white wine for years. Now I know better, and so do a number of the CA wine producers.

-- Clark

Care to put a list of names here?!!

To each his own. I like SB. It's mostly a Summer wine to me. I think both the New Zealand style and the French style have their places. The citrusy NZ style to me should be served really cold and I often drink a glass of it without food and it is really refreshing on a hot day. The French style should (IMO) be served warmer and treated more delicately and used more as a food wine. I don't usually go for the ones that are made too oaky to imitate Chardonnay. But on the other hand, I don't buy Riesling. We all have our preferences.

Glenn

It doesn't matter which wine you drink so long as you really enjoy whatever wine you drink.

rod - citrus implies acid and all of your possibilities EXCEPT getting more sun would probably achieve the goal. warm days make for higher sugar and therefore higher alchohol - something you don't want in SB. warm nights make for low acid - also something you don't want. sunlight will take away the bell pepper aroma associated with many versions of NZ SB.

Joe..sorry for the delay in reply, didn't see your question until tonight..we only visited the North Fork,will hit Wolffer and Channing Daughters on next visit to LI..

Can anyone argue against the idea that sauv blancs are on the comeback because American winemakers are making them citrusy/new zealandish style wines. How are they doing it? I have heard from winemakers several very different ways to do it, such as, adding citric acid or trellising and pruning the grapes so they get sun or that the grapes are harvested younger. What is the true story?

Rod

Does citric acid tastes citrusy, necessarily?

Grapefruit is a classic varietal aroma and flavor for this variety, although not generally here in California.

I don't drink very much CA wine, but it seems to me that CA SB has never had a clear identity; as has been suggested above, some producers have tried to make 'Chardignon,' it seems to me that very few have prized the variety for its character.

CA Sauvignon Blanc wines I have enjoyed include St. Supery, Kenwood, Honig and Joel Gott. None were Chardonnay style (although I think St. Supery also makes a blend with Semillon which I don't like as well as their regular SB). Still, I buy New Zealand or Sancerre SB more often than from California.

I wonder if there is a genetic tendency for people to strongly like or dislike the more aggressive varietal aromas of SBL. (It seems almost like cilantro/coriander in this way.) I love the ruby grapefruit/capsicum exuberance of these wines, but many tasters seem to find them almost offensive.

I agree that adding citric acid to a finished white wine can enhance citric fruit aromas. But citric acid (unlike tartaric acid) can easily be broken down by microbes and be converted into something else (for one thing acetic acid). I’m not sure how many winemakers will gamble using just citric acid knowing that there is a chance of increasing the acetic acid concentration of the wine.

Salute