My Favorite Organic White

On Tuesday I attended an organic wine tasting. Of the 21 wines sampled, eight were white wines, 1 Pinot Blanc, 1 Riesling, 2 Chardonnays and the rest were Sauvignon blancs. My favorite of the whites was a Sauvignon blanc, but a different SB than the group as a whole voted favorite.

I don't know if it was a result of the organic nature of the wines, but most of these whites were a pale yellow, much ligther than the colors I'm used to seeing. The flavors ranged from mild to good to one dimensional to bad. The most expensive wine of the group ($30 Grgich Chardonnay) was the most disappointing. All I tasted was oak!

My favorite was made by organic wine maker Bonterra. Bonterra practices organic and biodynamic farming. They produce affordable wines that I like to drink. I tried their Chardonnay before the wine tasting and enjoyed it. (I decided to bring the Grgich Chardonnay to the tasting because I thought someone else in the group might bring the Bonterra as they are well known as being an organic wine maker.)

The Bonterra Sauvignon Blanc is in a style I like: more minerally than sweet with not much citrus. I have heard that the New Zealand SBs are great and that the French Sancerres are the classic, but I have not tried either of them yet. One thing I like in a SB is what has been described as "cat pee." I don't like the SBs because of the cat pee ordor, its just that they tend to taste the way I prefer. I wonder that I can't pick up the pleasant odors people describe in wines like flowers or blue berries, but I can definitely detect the unpleasant ones!

If you're looking for an affordable organic wine, Bonterra is the way to go.

Tasting Notes:

Color: Very pale yellow, almost clear

Aroma: Earthly, cat pee

Taste: Minerally, nice acidity and not sweet like some SBs

Finish: Not much of a finish

This Sauvignon blanc is definitely a nice wine to sip but it's flavors are stong enough to enjoy with food.