Attributes:

Penfolds Wines

Southeastern Australia, Australia/New Zealand

Dry White Table Wine

750 ML

2001: WineSpectator Rating: 85

almond, melon

Food Matches:

Attributes:

Houghton

Australia, Australia/New Zealand

Dry White Table Wine

750 ML

2005: WineSpectator Rating: 85

bright

light

simple

2005: CGCW Rating: 85

green apple

2005: WineAndSpirits Rating: 88

fresh, tart

simple, straightforward

Food Matches:

In the past few decades Australia’s wine industry has transformed itself into one of the most technologically advanced in the world. A combination of a generally warm, dry climate and a cultural affinity for creating, rather than following, tradition has resulted in wines that are soft and pleasant to drink from an early age. They are the epitome of user-friendliness. Australia’s wine regions are mainly in the southern, cooler part of the country, clustered mainly in the state of Victoria, the southern part of South Australia and the cooler parts of New South Wales. Syrah, or Shiraz as it is known there, is the top grape, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Semillon. The wines are generally listed with the name of their grape variety, which must constitute at least 85 percent of the wine. Although Australia’s winemaking region is vast, most labels indicate only that their contents come from South Eastern Australia. Flavor is indicated by the variety of grape used to make the wine. Australia’s classification system is generally lax when it comes to quality and labeling. Some bottles indicate a specific state of origin (New South Wales, Victoria, or South Australia), or a region within a state, but these smaller zones are still being decided.

Attributes:

Christophe

Bordeaux, France

Sauvignon Blanc

750 ML

Food Matches:

A region in western France that grows famous red wines from the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc grapes and white wines from Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle grapes. Situated on the Atlantic coast, Bordeaux has a maritime climate with warm summers and fairly mild winters as well as an abundance of rain during harvest time. When young, the finest red Bordeaux wines have a deep cranberry hue and aromas of blackcurrants, plums, spice, cedar, and cassis. For the first ten years or so these wines can be very dry, with tannin masking the fruity flavors. Eventually the wines turn garnet, and develops an extraordinarily complex bouquet and flavor as well as softer tannins. The finest red Bordeaux wines still take 20 years or so before reaching their maturity. Two distinct red wine production zones exist within the Bordeaux region; the Left Bank and the Right Bank. The Left Bank vineyards are located west of the Garonne River and the Gironde Estuary, into which the Garonne empties. The Right Bank vineyards are east and north of the Dordogne River and east of the Grionde Estuary. Of the various wine districts on the Left and Right Banks, four are the most important for red wines: Haut-Médoc; Pessac-Leognan, St-Emilion, and Pomerol. For white wines, the most important are Graves and Pessac-Leognan.

Comes mostly from California, France, New Zealand, and South Africa. Its highly acidic wines are often suggestive of herbs or grass. Light to medium bodied and usually dry, European versions are generally not oaky while California Sauvignon Blanc can take on many of the qualities of Chardonnay. France has two classic wine regions for the Sauvignon Blanc gape: Bordeaux and the Loire Valley The Bordeaux wine is called Bordeaux Blanc and the two best known of the Loire wines are called Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. In Bordeaux, Sauvignon Blanc is sometimes blended with Sémillon.