Top NorCal Sauvignon Blancs You'll Buy Again & Again

Despite a fair amount of gloom about declining wine consumption by consumers across the globe, there are bright spots when you dig deeper into the data – namely, white wine consumption is actually on the rise.

Last year, white wine sales increased by three percent globally, and in the U.S. market, white wine consumption exceeded red wine consumption for the first time ever.

Among the many reasons for this trend are producers responding to consumer demand and increasingly investing in crafting exceptional and diverse white wines.

In Northern California, where Chardonnay has reigned supreme as the most planted grape variety for as long as anyone can remember, there are so many other white varietal wines being made – including fruity, thirst-quenching, and complex Sauvignon Blanc wines.

I tasted more than 40 different Sauvignon Blancs from Northern California over the past few months and the fruits of that labor are the seven wines I highlight below in this month’s Vine Finds.

I hope, like me, some of these fabulous and interesting wines find their way to your summer tables and gatherings with friends.

As Always, Salud!

Rombauer Sauvignon Blanc 2024

Rombauer’s Chardonnay has achieved an iconic status in many ways, but their other white is close on its tail. The 2024 Rombauer Sauvignon Blanc was just recently released, and it follows previous vintages closely in terms of its profile – one reason why it is the producer’s fastest-growing wines in terms of sales. Another reason is that it is delicious.

The color is almost a radiating, luminescent lime in the glass. On the nose, notes of melon rind, lime, and white flowers emerge. On the palate, a vibrant acidity and citrus, kiwi, and melon flavors create a bold, fruit forward experience. The mouthfeel also has some surprisingly additional weight to it, with some of the juice aged in neutral oak. This bottling is also higher in alcohol at 14.5 percent and the vast majority of the fruit was sourced from Sonoma County sites, with 15 percent sourced from Napa County.

Fine enjoyed on its own, this is also a wine that is elevated by being served alongside a meal. Consider something with some spice and heat, such as seared sea bass with a spicy curry sauce. You may continue to find the 2023 vintage on local merchant shelves, but again, fear not as we tasted both and they vary almost imperceptibly. $28 Retail

Beaulieu Vineyard BV Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2023

Having built their reputation on killer Cabs with telltale Rutherford dust, Beaulieu also produces both Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. This bottling is Beaulieu’s inaugural vintage of this particular Sauvignon Blanc with grapes from both the Rutherford and Oakville AVAs, with much of it being estate-grown fruit from the former.

The first aroma that emerges is oak, and indeed a portion of the wine was fermented and aged in new French oak barrels. Additional lemon citrus notes also emerge alongside grilled pineapple and peaches. On the palate, aging on the lees is immediately apparent in a rich and complex mouthfeel. Flavors of citrus and spice are vibrant but overall balanced, and the wine has a long and mouthwatering finish.

This is a more serious and complex bottling of Sauvignon Blanc and I thought it benefited from being decanted in advance to let some of the oaky nose dissipate. It’s also a wine that calls for food. It would be a perfect complement to a simple chicken roasted with herbes de Provence, broken down and served cold with simply dressed vinegary greens. $40 Retail

Wente Family Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Limited Release 2023

I spent significant time this summer tooling around California’s Livermore Valley, including time at the historic Wente Vineyards, the largest producer in the valley. Wente is still family-owned and its offerings expansive, but I gravitated to estate-grown fruit in this oldest of the state’s wine regions.

The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc is made with fruit entirely from select blocks on their certified sustainable estate. The nose is full of tropical fruit aromas like guava and passion fruit. On the palate, the fruit remains up front, but evolves with bright acidity to include citrus notes and slight hints of spice.

Neutral oak barrels were used for fermentation and aging, and the latter was done on the lees, which lends to the lush and elegant mouthfeel. It’s a deft use of barrels in the end product. Just over 200 cases were produced and is likely only to be found online at Wente’s website. Execute a killer charcuterie board and serve it with this great expression from one of Northern California’s lesser appreciated regions.$35 Retail

Brasswood Cellars Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2024

If you’ve never been to Brasswood Cellars in Napa’s St. Helena, you’re missing out. Led by winemaker Angelina Mondavi, their wines are emerging as some of the region’s best (their Cabernet Franc from the Brassrock Vineyard is dizzyingly marvelous), but the property itself is a destination for not just tastings, but incredible culinary offerings from their on-site restaurant and bakery, as well as periodic winemaker dinners.

Brasswood’s 2024 Sauvignon Blanc is made entirely from estate-grown fruit from the Crystal Springs Vineyard in St. Helena. The winemaker described this as, “Sunshine in a glass,” and she’s spot on. Lively aromas of lemon, lime, and honeysuckle unfold on the palate with bright acidity and lovely undertones of butterscotch and chamomile. After my first taste, I uttered, “Wow.”

This is the perfect stand-alone wine for a summer evening of long porch talking. But if you’re inclined to serve with food, go light – a niçoise salad or jerked and grilled chicken breast over a white wine vinaigrette-dressed mixed green salad. $58 Retail

Charles Krug Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc 2023

Napa Valley’s oldest winery continues to produce some of California’s most outstanding wines. A trip to the estate and their historic tasting is both a throwback to another time and yet also stylishly current. Their wines… inimitable. Their Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is my own personal “house red” and even their lower priced, more mass-produced wines, far surpass producers in that same space.

Their line of Limited Release wines is exclusively derived from estate-grown fruit, with the Sauvignon Blanc that makes up their 2023 Limited Release coming from estate vineyards in St. Helena. Seven months of aging on the lees in both stainless and concrete create a bold and complex bottling. Aromatics of both tropical fruits (think passion fruit and mango) and herbal notes (basil and mint) rise from the glass and on the palate, it’s fruit forward on the front end with lingering layers of grapefruit and verbena. The finish is long and wonderfully intriguing.

Only 500 cases of this wine were made and it is most easily accessed either at the estate itself or via their website. If you are inclined to a more straightforward Sauvignon Blanc, their Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is more widely available and at a lower price point, just above $20 retail. The Limited Release is very food-friendly and can stand up to a heartier dish – the classic roasted chicken with forty cloves of garlic comes to mind. $40 Retail

Merry Edwards Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc and Meredith Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2023

While there are many exceptional Sauvignon Blancs from Northern California, perhaps no producer has excelled and perfected their craft with the variety than has Merry Edwards Winery. Founded in 1997, winemaker Heidi Von Der Mehden took the reins of the vineyard when Merry Edwards, a trailblazer for women and wine production, retired in 2020.

Merry Edwards first started making their Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc in 2001 and in a style that the winery describes as an attempt "to tame the grape’s innate green characteristics." That style creates a wine with incredible aromatics and nary a hint of the heavy grass and feline characteristics that many associate with Sauvignon Blanc. Attentive techniques in the vineyard and the cellar, including aging on the lees for five months and a judicious use of both new and neutral French oak barrels, result in an exceptional representation of the grape from Sonoma County.

The 2023 vintage has an abundance of tropical fruit on the nose, and on the palate, a bright and beautiful explosion of grapefruit and honeydew, with a bit of salinity and oak. Everything is in balance in this wine and the sensory experience from the nose to the palate is unified, seamless, and utterly compelling.

You have to love the overachiever who, having established the standard against which others are compared, reaches still higher. This is the case with Merry Edwards’ first ever single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc derived from two select blocks in their flagship vineyard, the 2023 Meredith Estate Sauvignon Blanc. Here, amphora aging is used for about 1/3 of the juice, the remainder goes into neutral oak. The result is a sublime wine, lush, well-balanced, and crisp with aromas of honeysuckle and citrus.

These wines are profoundly quaffable on their own and to that end, make sure to enjoy a glass or two on their own without food. You’ll thank me later. But if a meal follows, still choose something light that lets this wine shine, like baked cod with an orange beurre blanc and fresh, crisp string beans. $48 Retail-

Russian River Valley 2023; $80 - Meredith Estate 2023