The Daily Sip: enjoying a first-rate sauivgnon blanc from South Australia

I’m sitting around on a wonderfully pleasant autumn afternoon, charcoal grill firing up, kids occupied, new puppy calm. I’m having a taste of a mouth tingling sauvignon blanc that I know will match well with the cut-up chicken (from a local farm) that I’m about to grill after marinating it in lemon, white wine, olive oil and herbes de Provence. The wine is from South Australia,  Wakefield Wines’ 2009 Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc. It’s nicely balanced with notes of green apple, lime, passion fruit, gooseberry and a touch of vanilla framed by a “vibrant acidity,” to borrow a phrase from the bottle’s back label.

This one, while on the fresh and racy side, is slightly de-tuned from many New Zealand sauvignons, which should make it broadly appealing to devotees of the grape. It also reinforces what I have known for some time, that Australia is making some first-rate sauvignons that remain largely overshadowed by regions that are better known for the variety. Beyond citrus-marinated chicken, enjoy this $17 wine with simple fish and shellfish dishes and sushi. Alcohol is 13 percent. Imported by American Wine Distributors, South San Francisco, California. Received as a press sample.

del.icio.us Tags: Wakefield Wines,Wakefield Sauvignon Blanc,Adelaide Hills,Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc,South Australia,Australian Sauvignon blanc,American Wine Distributors,Edward Deitch

Sips: with its ‘Layers,’ Australia’s Peter Lehmann produces a distinctive white blend

In the late-summer heat wave we’re having in the Northeast, any white wine that has a relatively low 11.5 percent alcohol is going to be at least be worth a try, which is why I pulled Peter Lehmann’s 2009 “Layers” White out of the wine rack here at our place in the  country. Beyond the heat, I’ll admit that I’ve been distracted in the last couple of days, which is why this is the first post of the week . (The chief distraction is an eight-week old puppy, a  cute little Lab/Pointer mix we adopted over the  weekend from a rescue program.)

But back to the wine. “Layers” is made from grapes from the Barossa Valley and Adelaide regions of South Australia and is a blend, which is, one may conclude, what they’re getting at with the name, although you might not know it because the bottle provides no clues except for images of five grapes on the front label. Peter Lehmann’s website reveals a mix of semillon, chardonnay, pinot gris, gewürztraminer and muscat. I had thought there might be some riesling in the mix. Oh, well.

The wine shows lots of component parts for  the suggested price of  $16 – a good deal of lemon-lime plus white peach, apricot, honey and some baking spices. I thought it might pair well with one of my favorite pasta dishes -- broccoli rabe sautéed with sweet and hot Italian sausage – and it did, providing a refreshing wash-down to this not unsubstantial dish, especially on a very warm night. It’s easy to drink with nice complexity – a winning combination for casual drinking and a range of white-wine foods. Imported by The Hess Collection New World Wines, Napa, California. (Received as a press sample.)

del.icio.us Tags: Barossa Valley,Australia white wine,Gewurztraminer,Chardonnay,Pinot Gris,Semillon,Peter Lehmann,Peter Lehmann Layers,Australian white blends,Edwad Deitch,Hess Collection