Lang Wines

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The two faces of Sauvignon Blanc

Amador County is known for its Zinfandel, and rightly so; the peppery nose and raspberry fruit of Sierra Foothill Zin define this unique California varietal. The oldest continuously producing Zinfandel vineyard in California, dating from the 1860s, is in Amador County. Scott Harvey is a previous owner of that historic vineyard.

However, the Sierra Foothills is much more than Zinfandel and Barbera. In the mid-1970s, Cary Gott planted Sauvignon Blanc at Montevina; as I recall, his first production of that wine was around 1978 and its reception from buyers was overwhelmingly positive. Suffice it to say, Cary’s neighbors, including myself as an owner of Twin Rivers Vineyards planted Sauvignon Blanc in the following years. Prior to that time, most California Sauvignon Blanc was grown in cooler coastal appellations and tended toward the grassy, herbal style defined and made famous by New Zealand and many Sonoma County wineries.

It was Robert Mondavi who started many of California’s now historic wine stories, including Sauvignon Blanc, which he labeled Fume Blanc, thereby avoiding a then more difficult pronunciation, and introducing a much more attractive and mysterious “…white smoke, Fume Blanc.” The story continues… Thanks Robert!

The 2012 Lang Sauvignon Blanc grapes were sourced from Amador County and grown on a two-wire trellis system which easily permits ‘hedging’ the vines so that a controlled amount of direct sun can reach the clusters. Hedging also reduces the total vegetative weight of the vine, which reduces and thereby controls the vegetative (herbal) characteristics of the finished wine. SB grown in full shade below a thick canopy cover will ripen with a more delicate, translucent, green-tinged skin; the wine will also have a somewhat greenish hue and display the herbal flavor characteristics that define this style. Conversely, SB grown so that some sun reaches the clusters from day-one will display a somewhat tougher and thicker, amber-colored skin and be much less likely to suffer sunburn in a late-season hot spell; the resulting wine will display more of the desirable ‘tropical fruit’ flavors and a citrusy finish.

Our 2012 Sauvignon Blanc was awarded a Silver Medal at the 2013 San Francisco International Wine Competition. Enjoy!

Thanks for sharing some history. I’ve really enjoyed your Zins and Barberas (and the Apres!). Looks like it’s time to check out your Sauv Blanc!