Friday Funday... Grapefruit, Melon, or Minerals?

This is my challenge to you for the weekend - DO SOMETHING FUN AND SPONTANEOUS WITH WINE! Put together a simple, fun, and very educational tasting flight of Sauvignon Blanc.

Last summer we did a road trip. One of our stops included an amazing Bed and Breakfast set in the middle of an Aspen Grove in Colorado near Grand Lake (the headwaters of the Colorado river). Spirit Mountain Ranch was one of the most beautiful B&B's I've ever stayed at, and they have Alpacas! We decided to offer a wine tasting one night with the guests, so we arranged it with the owners - Beth and Sandy, shipped the wine we wanted to do, and had a blast.

Of course we did lots of other things too, like spending two days in Mesa Verde visiting these treasured ancient cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloans...

Ancestral Puebloans - Mesa Verde

Jake feels like these ruins are America's version of Peru's national treasure Machu Picchu - it was an amazing place! We stopped all along our trip for hikes, viewing national parks, and of course, lots of wine picnics. The following picture is one I took on my iPhone of Jake in front of Bridal Veil Falls above Telluride... it turned out so artsy that I couldn't help but include it!

Jake in front of Bridal Veil Falls in Telluride

This next picture is Telluride. You can see the falls we hiked to the top of at the way back of the valley. At the top it was glacial, tons of snow and tundra!

Telluride

Of course when we reached the glacial tundra, Jake got down to business... he had me on the lookout for bears, apparently this is a great summer feeding ground for them, and I didn't want to be their next meal!

Jake doing what Jake does on vacation! See tiny Telluride way down below?

Our road trip was anything but boring, unless you consider encountering a mountain cattle drive traffic jam boring... yes we were stuck smack dab in the middle!

Colorado Cattle Drive - Cows Mooing and Pooping all around us!!!

And needless to say we eventually had to stop for this...

Hans - our Mini Cooper Convertible getting a bath!

And this...

Laundry time...

Because Jake was always getting dirty doing this...

He's dedicated to his craft and it SHOWS!!!

But I DIGRESS!

ACTUAL POST TOPIC "WINE TASTING SAUVIGNON BLANC STYLE" AFTER THE JUMP...

When we arrived at the B&B Spirit Mountain Ranch, we set-up the tasting and one of the flights included these three wines...

Three Sauvginon Blanc Wines

I chose these three to show the style differences in Sauvignon Blanc wines. Once you understand this, you'll be able to pick out the style you prefer without costly mistakes of bringing home selections you won't enjoy. So here is a brief description of these three wines:

1. Fazeli Cellars Sauvignon Blanc: This is a tank fermented California style wine. I chose this wine because it has a very similar palate profile as a French Sancerre, (French often call Sauvignon Blanc Sancerre). This wine is clean, has no oak, is bright and crisp and it has a mineral component that I love! Think a touch of granite and you'll catch the essence I'm talking about. This mineral component is what causes me to compare it to a French Sancerre. This option is probably the most food friendly of the three! Shell fish - YUM!
2. Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc: This wine is an iconic example of the Sauv Blancs the New Zealanders are making - the style is what I like to call BODACIOUS! It explodes with grapefruit, kiwi, gooseberries, and lots of puckering acid - MY FAVORITE STYLE, and based on the number of options on the market, the favorite of many others as well. 
3. Fiddlehead Cellars Sauvignon Blanc: This is the classic California style made famous by Mondavi in the 80's called Fume Blanc. This version has been fermented and aged in oak. Using oak gives this wine a rounder, smoother, more toasty flavor profile. Melons and pears and almonds can be found in this wine. It's honestly not my favorite style, but it can be very enjoyable as a stand alone quaffing wine, and has a strong cult following of Fume Blanc lovers.

So, to wrap this up, you can easily go to a well stocked wine store and if the wine steward knows what he/she is doing, you can simply ask for a French Sauv Blanc (Sancerre) for the minerally option; a NZ Sauv Blanc for bodacious grapefruit; and an oaked version for the more toasty, round, melon style.

This is an easy wine tasting to do, the differences in the three wines using the same grape are pronounced and easy to discern. After doing this you will be able to identify your favorite style, and help your guests do the same... DO IT, I PROMISE, IT WILL BE FUN AND EDUCATIONAL!!!

Oh, and final DISCLAIMER - all the Colorado trip pictures sans one, were taken on my iPhone and don't represent the amazing shots Jake actually took - wish you could see the book he did!!!