Some Outstanding Whites from France, Italy, Spain, and New Zealand, by Geraldine Ramer

Sir John Gielgud in Alain Resnais' Providence (1977)

Sometimes I think I’m the only person in the room who likes white wine, but in this case we were outside celebrating a friend’s birthday in her charming garden on a small bluff overlooking the harbor. Someone came over and thanked me for recommending a wine to a mutual friend. “She told us about it and we’ve been drinking it ever since.” Seated in a comfortable lawn chair in that idyllic setting, watching some kayakers head toward home on the turning tide, I decided I ought to gather a list of some of my favorite white wines from this past summer before the warm weather entirely slips away.

The wine my friend was talking about is Chateau Ducasse, a Bordeaux Blanc made from semillon, sauvignon blanc and a bit of muscadelle. Having had this wine over several vintages, I too have been drinking it “ever since.”

If you like your sauvignon blanc straight up, so to speak, get a bottle of the one from Brancott Estate, a New Zealand producer. I took a bottle of the 2010 to a small gathering a few weeks ago and the first sips prompted unmistakable murmurs of satisfaction. Zingy, citrusy aromas followed by vibrant fruit highlighted by crisp acidity and a satiny texture make this a paradigmatic sauvignon blanc.

Read the full article on the Berkshire Review, an International Journal for the Arts!



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