PASCAL JOLIVET | Sancerre 2015
(Sancerre, Loire Valley, FR) $22
What I love about Sancerre is its unleashed wild side (as though some mad river creature whirled up out of the Loire River and drenched you in a minerally spray). Easy to find in stores nationally, Pascal Jolivet’s Sancerre is a delicious classic with a limey edge and terrific tension between fruit and acidity. Among all the sauvignon blancs in the world, Sancerre is not so much “green” as it is tangy and textural (which is one of the reasons it’s so versatile with food). I’m laying in a half case for the spring. (13% abv)
91 points KM
Available at totalwine.com
Saturday was St. Patrick’s Day. So, the first Irish person to establish a winery in California built the winery in which region?
A. Lodi
B. Livermore
C. Monterey
D. Napa Valley
Scroll down for the answer!
It’s a Spring Thing
Sauvignon blanc—crisp, limey, herbal—is tailor made for spring. We decided to ask prominent cheese expert (and our friend) Janet Fletcher (Planet Cheese) to name some of the most delicious cheeses for sauvignon blanc. Here’s her list:
“Nicasio Valley Cheese Company’s Foggy Morning is a fresh cow’s milk cheese that I love with sauvignon blanc. Also, Garden Variety’s Sweet Alyssum which is a fresh, rindless sheep’s milk cheese—much lighter on the tongue than most chevres. I also love Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese’s mozzarella, which is made with cultured milk (as opposed to acidified milk) so it has more flavor. And Bellwether Farms Jersey Milkricotta is marvelous with spring vegetables like asparagus, fava beans and beets. My favorite fetas? Greek feta from Mt. Vikos and French feta from Valbreso. With olives and pita and cucumbers or beets or fava beans, bring on the sauvignon!”
“On more than one occasion in recent years, I’ve opened a wine list in a trendy restaurant and been a bit stumped. A lot of choices, but on the entire list, I may recognize about half the wines. I cannot imagine how a customer with less knowledge about wine than I, if such a person exists, feels reading an obscure wine list like that. Except intimidated. Which is not normally why a human goes to a restaurant. That’s why you go to church.”
—Ron Washam, the HoseMaster of Wine
“Karen, can you suggest a wine that pairs well with corned beef and cabbage? We often have beer, but I like wine better.”
—Leslie L., Sacramento, CA
Leslie, regrettably, no. Boiled cabbage is one of the toughest foods to pair with wine. Cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables make wine taste hollow, unripe, sour and sometimes even dank. Grilling or roasting can help (as when you roast brussels sprouts), but boiled cabbage? This is the moment for Guinness in my opinion.
—Karen
Have a wine question for me? Great. I love questions, and I’ll do my best to get you the right answer. Send your question to [email protected]
B. Concannon, one of Livermore’s leading historic wineries was built in 1883 by Irish immigrant and devout Catholic James Concannon.
