The Golden Gate Vintners Sauvignon Blanc is a non-vintage, $3.49 wine, sourced from grapes grown in more than one California grape growing AVA. Produced by Franzia winery, The Wine Group, LLC, which is the 3rd largest wine company in the US and are responsible for Concannon wines, The Underdog Wine Merchant Group, who make Cupcake, flipflop and Fisheye among others, along with such old school wines as Mogen David and Paul Masson. They have access to tons of grapes and years of experience in producing inexpensive wine. In Europe, young wines (pick the grapes, ferment the wine, then bottle it, with little or no aging) are readily available for a Euro or two. Every region has its local variety of low priced everyday wine and these wines are not looked down upon, people take pride in these wines, you know, their wine is much better than the local stuff from the town 15 miles away. In the US, young, very inexpensive wine is seen as tainted, there has to be something wrong with it or it would cost much more. But as I have learned over the years, there is not a particularly firm connection between the price of wine and the quality of wine. The alcohol content is 12.5%.
The color is DelMonte canned pears in heavy syrup yellow. The nose is nice, peach, pear, pineapple, a little bit of honey and some Granny Smith apple. It has a light, but solid mouth feel, not at all watery. It tastes of apricot and lime, juicy apple and a touch of pineapple juice. The mid palate brings a soft slap of minerality, which adds a nice texture and some not sweet 7up. The acidity is on the bold side, but it is under control and does not interfere with the flavor. The finish is soft and lasts an average amount of time.
Well, there you go, $3.49 buys you a very drinkable Sauvignon Blanc. No odd flavors or out of balance acidity that burns your lips, the worst that can be said about the Golden Gate Vintners Sauvignon Blanc is that it is a very average Sauvignon Blanc. At $12 that is a knock, at $3.49 it is praise.
