The label of this wine had me feeling nostalgic, just like the feeling of the last week of August. School buses are back on their routes. Leaves are just starting to turn orange and red. The days are ending just a tad bit sooner than they had the week before. It’s that feeling that makes you put on your favorite record and finally delve into that book you meant to read all summer long.
Sauvignon Blanc is an old favorite of mine. It’s usually very approachable for someone new to wine. It has a fun name, light color, and no bad reputation that might taint it for newcomers quite like Chardonnay does. It pairs well with spicy foods, light foods, and can hold up to some light red meats like pork.
This Sauvignon Blanc was labeled as vegan, which made me curious as to what exactly would make wine not vegan. As it turns out, lots of wines use fining agents as a kind of filtration system. These agents attract the molecules that make wine appear hazy. This creates larger particles of these molecules and makes them easier to filter out. However, the most common agents come from some sort of animal byproduct. Wine makers may choose to use vegan-friendly fining agents that are either clay-based or activated charcoal. This removes any animal product from the wine making process and therefore produces vegan wine. *
This wine was from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand and sampled on August 26, 2019. The almost clear, but still slightly straw-colored liquid was a perfect example of Sauvignon Blanc. I was listening to “Say My Name” by Hozier. I breathed in a floral and citrusy bomb! It was a lot of honeysuckle and lemon all at once. The first taste brought very high acidity, but with a softer, smoother finish. The taste was very peachy. It brought a definite contrast to the sticky chipotle ribs. It was fruity, bright, and refreshing.
I gave this wine a rating of 3.5. It was very good and served as a nice palate cleanser with the sticky ribs.
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