2010 Sauvignon Blanc – BC VQA Okanagan Valley

Our current take on the hugely popular New Zealand variety is gently grassy, green and bright and fresh, but with nice fruit and weight in the mouth. (If you’ve tasted New Zealand Sauvignon you know it can be harsh and sharp; we think we’ve come up with the “Goldilocks” version: not too acidic, not too overstuffed, not too green, not too sweet, but “just right!”). You’ll catch whiffs of fresh herbs—tarragon, Italian parsley, oregano, even a little rosemary—all making it a fabulous fish wine—think crab salad, spot prawns, scallops, steamed rock cod with cilantro, smoked sablefish, fresh halibut fillets bamboo-steamed with black bean sauce.

Balance is everything and here’s a beautifully balanced wine, everything integrated and in its place—fruit, acidity, alcohol, a hint of oak.

Egg dishes like this one (who says you can’t have wine with eggs? Certainly not the French); it’s a good brunch wine when there’s Bennies on the menu, traditional or with smoked salmon and capers; crab quiche; Bloody Caesar-steamed mussels with sopressata sausage; the famous Japanese savoury custard called chawan mushi and always sushi, especially if you’re not a big fan of sake.

Winner of the 2011 Judges Choice Award at the Wine Access International Value Awards.

Price: $17.99